Adrien Rabiot hopes France can ease the pain of loss for boss Didier Deschamps

Adrien Rabiot says France want to give head coach Didier Deschamps “something to rejoice over” at the World Cup following the death of his mother.

Deschamps missed France’s 4-1 win over Norway in their final group game on Friday having returned home, but will be back in the dugout for Tuesday’s last-32 knockout tie against Sweden at the New Jersey/New York Stadium.

Two-time winners France, beaten finalists in 2022, are big favourites to progress, while Rabiot said it had not been easy for Deschamps and that the players had rallied behind him.

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The AC Milan midfielder told a press conference: “We do know that for the coach it has been very difficult, that he was really affected by this loss.

“The group is very united, we know what he’s going through, and we’ll try to give him something to rejoice over. I think that’s the least we can do.”

Rabiot, who sat out Friday’s win against Norway after starting in both group wins over Senegal and Iraq, said the French camp had been shocked by the news, but Deschamps had returned “with the willpower to go as far as possible in this World Cup”.

“I don’t think that it’s so easy to have to grieve in these conditions,” Rabiot added. “This is football and now we have the World Cup and it is the way it is.

“He has smiled a lot. He tried to be enthusiastic, although I know that he’s very affected by his grief. I think he’s trying not to show it, not to transmit any negativity to the squad.”

Arsenal defender William Saliba missed the final group win due to an ongoing back issue, but is expected to return to the starting line-up, while Marcus Thuram (muscle strain) is unavailable and N’Golo Kante remains doubtful.

Sweden