PARIS: France manager Didier Deschamps will not manage his team’s final group-stage match against Norway on Friday as he flies back to France to attend his mother’s funeral. “Didier Deschamps will not be able to oversee training sessions ahead of the Norway v France match. He will also be absent from the bench for Friday’s final Group I game,” the French Football Federation said in a statement announcing the news. “The national team coach learned this morning of the death of his mother and will return to France to attend her funeral. “In agreement with Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, who is currently at the France team’s base camp, Deschamps has entrusted assistant coach Guy Stephan with responsibility for leading the squad until his return.” France, which are the betting favorites to win the World Cup at +400 according to DraftKings, already have clinched a spot in the knockout round with wins in their first two Group I matches against Senegal (3-1) and Iraq (3-0). Norway, though, also has won their first two matches and would knock France down to second in the group if they win Friday’s match in Foxborough, Mass. Deschamps, 57, has coached France’s national team since 2012.
