In a heartbreaking development confirmed by federation officials, an iconic, French World Cup-winning coach, Didier Deschamps has abruptly abandoned his squad’s preparation sheets to catch an emergency flight back to Europe, Yankee Scores reports.
Deschamps is bereaved and will miss his side’s final group game following the death of his mother, the French Football Federation (FFF) has confirmed.
Didier Deschamps ne pourra pas assurer les entraînements avant la rencontre Norvège-France. Il ne pourra pas non plus être présent sur le banc vendredi pour le dernier match des Bleus dans le groupe I (21 heures, h.f.).
Le sélectionneur national a eu la douleur, ce mardi matin,… pic.twitter.com/Mqi67B0tJF
— FFF (@FFF) June 23, 2026
Official Confirmation
“Didier Deschamps will not be able to lead training sessions ahead of the Norway-France match. He will also not be present on the bench on Friday for the last match of the Bleus in Group I (9 p.m., local time).
The national team coach had the sorrow, this Tuesday morning, of learning of the death of his mother.He will return to France to attend her funeral.
Guy Stéphan’s Interim Mandate
“Didier Deschamps has entrusted responsibility to his assistant, Guy Stéphan, to lead the group until his return. In this extremely painful moment, we wish the coach and his family much courage and assure them of the support of everyone at the Federation”, FFF added.
The 57-year-old was informed of his mother’s death on Tuesday morning and has been granted permission by the FFF’s president Philippe Diallo to fly back to France for the funeral.
Having already qualified for the knockout stages after beating Senegal and Iraq in their opening two games, France face Norway on Friday in Boston to decide the Group I winner.
Deschamps was a member of the French team that won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.
As manager of the national side he was successful in 2012, leading them to World Cup final glory in Russia in 2018 and a loss to Argentina in the final in 2022.
Last week, France defeated Senegal 3-1 in New Jersey and then on Monday, 3-0 win – which featured a two-hour weather delay in Philadelphia – against Iraq.
