Less than a week after stepping away from the French national men’s soccer team to attend his mother’s funeral, head coach Didier Deschamps has returned to the squad’s base in East Rutherford, New Jersey, ready to lead Les Bleus into their critical World Cup round of 32 matchup against Sweden on Tuesday.
The devastating news of Deschamps’ mother’s passing reached the coach just one day after France secured a 2026 Men’s World Cup group stage win over Iraq on June 22, a result that locked in the team’s spot in the knockout round. With Deschamps traveling back to Europe for the funeral service, assistant coach Guy Stéphan stepped in to lead the squad against Norway on Friday, and the team delivered an impressive 4-1 victory to cap off a clean group stage sweep.
Speaking to reporters Monday through a translator, just hours after touching back down in the United States the previous evening, Deschamps confirmed he was ready to rejoin the team’s preparations. “I’m here. I’m good, and it’s good to be busy,” he said, acknowledging the profound difficulty of the past week. “For me it was very difficult. And for me and for the French national team it was important that I left. They did what they had to do. And now we’re preparing a competition within the competition.”
France’s undefeated run through the group stage marks the first time the nation has won all three of its group matches at a World Cup since 1998, the year Deschamps lifted the trophy as team captain. France joins Argentina and Mexico as the only three nations to claim three consecutive group stage wins at this year’s tournament. If Deschamps’ side gets past Sweden, they will advance to the round of 16 to face the winner of the Germany vs. Paraguay match. The team is still in the running for its third World Cup title, following 1998 and 2018.
One of the team’s star midfielders, Adrien Rabiot, shared that Deschamps’ sudden departure came as a surprise to the squad, but the group pulled together to deliver a result in his absence. “It was somewhat of a shock. He completely trusted in us and we delivered the best way possible. We’re happy that he’s back,” Rabiot said through a translator. “I don’t think that it’s so easy to have to grieve in these conditions. This is football and now we have the World Cup and it is the way it is.” Rabiot added that Deschamps has returned focused on the tournament, working hard to keep his private grief from affecting the squad: “Didier came back with the willpower to go as far as possible in this World Cup. It is something that, of course, will also help him to forget a little bit about these tragic events. He 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 negative to the squad.”
Deschamps is one of the most decorated coaches in French soccer history, having led the national team to a World Cup title in 2018 and a runner-up finish at the 2022 tournament, where the side fell to Argentina in a penalty shootout. Appointed head coach in 2012, Deschamps announced earlier this year that he will retire from his post this summer. A win in this year’s tournament would make him just the second men’s coach in history to claim two World Cup titles, following Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo who won back-to-back trophies in 1934 and 1938.
The French soccer federation’s request to allow the squad to wear black armbands during the match against Norway to honor Deschamps’ mother was denied by FIFA. When asked about the decision, Deschamps downplayed its impact. “It doesn’t change a lot for me, to be very honest with you. I didn’t need that to have an additional sign. I already had enough signs as it was, whether it was directly or indirectly,” he said. FIFA has not yet issued a public comment on the denial.
Heading into Tuesday’s matchup, Deschamps confirmed that the squad will be without starting striker Marcus Thuram, who picked up a minor calf injury that will keep him sidelined for the round of 32. Thuram, the son of 1998 World Cup champion Lilian Thuram, has only made one appearance so far in this tournament, coming on as a late injury time substitute against Iraq. Star midfielder N’Golo Kanté is also listed as questionable for the starting lineup, Deschamps confirmed, noting that the issue is not muscular but may still keep him out of the first 11. Veteran defender William Saliba, who played the full 90 minutes in the first two group stage matches before resting against Norway, is dealing with a recurring back issue but is expected to be available. “He’s not at 100%, but if he’s at 99% it’s good for the matches. Everything is good,” Deschamps said.
Tuesday’s matchup marks the first time France and Sweden have ever faced off at a men’s World Cup. France heads into the game with the best goal difference of any team in the tournament so far, at plus-8, with 10 goals scored and just 2 conceded across the group stage. Still, Deschamps said there is room for improvement ahead of the knockout round: “We could have scored more. We did concede two goals, but we did concede too many goal-scoring opportunities.”