France coach leaves World Cup for mum’s funeral
<p>France head coach Didier Deschamps has temporarily stepped away from the national team’s FIFA World Cup campaign following the death of his mother, the <strong><a href="https://uk.fff.fr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">French Football Federation</a></strong> (FFF) confirmed on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The federation announced that the 57-year-old will return to France to attend the funeral and will miss both the team’s preparations and their final <strong><a href="https://www.google.com/url?source=gmail&sa=E&q=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Group I fixture against Norway</a></strong> on Friday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.</p>
<p>In a statement, the FFF revealed that Deschamps received the news of his mother’s passing on Tuesday morning and subsequently agreed with federation president Philippe Diallo to leave the squad’s base camp in the United States.</p>
<p>“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).</p>
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<p>“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.</p>
<p>“In agreement with Philippe Diallo, the president of the French Football Federation, who is present at the France team’s base camp for the World Cup in the United States, Didier Deschamps has entrusted responsibility to his assistant, Guy Stéphan, to lead the group until his return.</p>
