FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The final Group I match of the men’s World Cup between Norway and France on Friday brings with it two major lineup and coaching disruptions that have reshaped the showdown ahead of the knockout round. The biggest headline coming out of Norway’s pre-match team announcement is star striker Erling Haaland’s absence from the starting 11, one of 10 regular opening-day starters left on the bench by head coach Ståle Solbakken.
Norway has already locked in its spot in the tournament’s round of 32, which has led Solbakken to rotate his squad heavily to rest key players ahead of knockout-stage play. Only one player who started Norway’s opening group fixture against Senegal on Monday retains his place in Friday’s starting lineup: midfielder Fredrik Aursnes. The sweeping changes also see goalkeeper Egil Selvik get his first start of the tournament, replacing regular starter Orjan Nyland between the posts.
Despite the rotation, Norway still has a shot at topping Group I: the side only trails group leader France on goal difference, and a win over France would see Norway jump to first place in the group standings. For Haaland, the absence comes mid-tournament in a tight race for the tournament’s Golden Boot. The Norwegian star is currently tied for second on the goal-scoring leaderboard with four tournament goals, level with Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior and France’s own Kylian Mbappé. That puts Haaland just one goal behind leader Lionel Messi of Argentina, who sits atop the rankings with five goals.
On France’s side of the matchup, all eyes will be on the sideline rather than the starting XI, where the reigning 2018 champions are fielding their full regular starting lineup including Mbappé. But France will be without their iconic head coach Didier Deschamps, who has stepped away from the team temporarily following the recent passing of his mother. The 57-year-old manager is currently back in France with his family to grieve, leaving assistant coach Guy Stéphan to lead the team in Friday’s fixture.
Stéphan told reporters ahead of the match that he has remained in constant contact with Deschamps, even speaking with him just hours before kickoff. “He is very affected,” Stéphan said of his boss. “I will strive to make the situation as normal as possible and to prove worthy of the trust he places in me.” My thoughts have been with Deschamps and his entire family this week, he added.
Deschamps, who already confirmed he will step down from his role as France’s head coach after this year’s tournament, has one of the most storied careers in World Cup history. He won the tournament as a player with France in 1998, repeated the feat as head coach in 2018, and led his side to a second-place finish in the 2022 tournament. This match marks his final group-stage appearance at the helm, one he will miss due to family tragedy.
The stakes of Friday’s match extend beyond group bragging rights, as the final group positions will determine where each team plays their first knockout-round match. The Group I winner will face a yet-to-be-determined third-place finisher from another group next Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, while the group’s second-place team will take on Ivory Coast the same day in Arlington, Texas.