Didier Deschamps to miss France’s final group game after mother’s death
The French Football Federation confirmed Deschamps will be absent for the Norway fixture after his mother passed away on June 23
Didier Deschamps will not be on the touchline for France’s final Group I match at the 2026 World Cup. The French Football Federation confirmed Tuesday that Deschamps’ mother passed away on June 23, and he will travel back to France to attend her funeral rather than lead the team against Norway on June 25.
The FFF released an official statement the same morning the news broke, confirming both the death and Deschamps’ planned absence. He will also miss the two training sessions scheduled before the Norway fixture.
What this means for France’s World Cup campaign
France are in Group I alongside Norway, Senegal, and Iraq. The Norway game is the group’s final round of fixtures.
No interim or replacement coach has been announced as of Tuesday.
The end of a 14-year era
Deschamps has been France’s head coach since 2012, a tenure that spans 14 years. He led Les Bleus to the 2018 World Cup title in Russia, a tournament France won by defeating Croatia in the final. That victory made him one of a small group of people who have both played for and managed a World Cup-winning team, having also been part of the France squad that lifted the trophy on home soil in 1998.
He was runner-up at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where France reached the final before losing to Argentina in a penalty shootout.
Deschamps had already indicated before this tournament that 2026 would be his last World Cup as France coach.