France coach Didier Deschamps missed his team’s 2026 World Cup group-stage match against Norway because of the death of his mother. The French Football Federation said it planned for players to wear black armbands in tribute, but FIFA declined the request, and the FFF also clarified that a pregame moment of silence was arranged for victims of an earthquake in Venezuela, not for Deschamps’ mother, according to Yahoo Sports.
With assistant Guy Stéphan in charge, France beat Norway 4-1 as Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat trick, and the result left France 3-0 in group play ahead of a Tuesday match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey against a third-place team.