France will go into Friday’s Group I finale against Norway in Foxborough, Mass., knowing a draw will be enough to top the group, but without the man who has been in charge for more than a decade.
Manager Didier Deschamps has taken leave from the squad after the death of his mother earlier this week. And while the 57-year-old was expected to step down after the tournament from the post he has held since 2012, none of his current charges were quite prepared for this kind of separation.
“My thoughts are very much with Didier and his family, myself, (as are those of) all the staff and players,” assistant Guy Stephan said through an interpreter. “He’s very affected by what’s happening to him. … So, I’ve been in close contact with him. I just spoke with him a few minutes ago. And that will continue until the match, even though (Friday) is another special day since it’s the day of the funeral.
“So, I’m going to try to make this difficult situation as normal as possible.”
France (2-0-0, 6 points) have looked strong, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice in each match, a 3-1 opening win over Senegal and a 3-0 triumph over Iraq.
That took the embattled Real Madrid star to 16 tallies for his World Cup career, tying Germany’s Miroslav Klose for second on the all-time list and staying within two of Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who has already scored five times in this tournament.
Norway (2-0-0, 6 points) have their own entrant into the 2026 Golden Boot race with Erling Haaland, the Manchester City target man who has matched Mbappe with two braces.
In their first appearance at the World Cup finals since 1998, the early wins over Iraq and Senegal have been strong enough that some are tipping the Scandinavians for a deep run.
Even in a team-run interview this week, forward Alexander Sorloth was asked what it might be like to become the ninth team to lift the World Cup trophy.
“I don’t think I’ve thought about that,” Sorloth said with a chuckle. “It’s way too far ahead, so we’ll take it one game at a time, and it’s so far ahead (but) it’s really cool to think about.”
Norway must win the match to secure first place in Group I, as a draw would leave France the group winners on goal differential.
–Group I: Senegal vs. Iraq at Toronto: Both sides are technically still alive for one of the eight third-place group spots in the round of 32. They could both afford a victory by multiple goals to bolster their goal difference, which will be the lead tiebreaker for third-place finishers on the same number of points.
–Group H: Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia at Houston: Cape Verde entered their World Cup debut as one of the most obvious Cinderella stories. After their draw with Uruguay, they sit in position to potentially lock up a second-place finish if they can defeat a Saudi side that has failed to impress so far and would likely advance even with a draw.
–Group H: Uruguay vs. Spain at Zapopan, Mexico: Uruguay have looked anything but settled in their first two group matches, both draws. Spain were much closer to their expected level in their recent win over the Saudis with Lamine Yamal returning to the starting 11.
–Group G: Egypt vs. Iran at Seattle: After rallying to their first-ever World Cup victory against New Zealand, Egypt will take their inaugural group win if they can beat Iran. But Team Melli has been steeled by adversity at this tournament while earning back-to-back draws and would likely reach the knockout stage for the first time if Iran can pull out a third.
–Group G: New Zealand vs. Belgium at Vancouver: The All Whites probably need to pull one of the shocks of the tournament to prolong their stay. Belgium would likely advance with a win, but also need Egypt not to win to have a chance at topping the group.
–Field Level Media
