FIFA reject heartfelt request ahead of France and Norway's World Cup clash

France emerged as 4-1 winners in their clash with Norway to finish top of their World Cup group as both nations progress to the knockouts of the competition; however, FIFA have been accused of a shameless decision ahead of the match.

The Norwegians made 10 changes to the side that overcame Senegal for this clash with France, as Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, and Ørjan Nyland all started on the bench.

Ståle Solbakken’s decision may be beneficial to his side’s progression in the competition, as Norway are now likely to face Ivory Coast in the next round, meaning they avoid Sweden, who are the leading candidates to face France in the round of 32 after Les Bleus finished top of the group.

Aside from the positive result for the French, the absence of their manager Didier Deschamps was noticeable, as Guy Stéphan stood in for the manager who had left the camp to be with his family following the death of his mother.

Didier Deschamps will step down after this summer's World Cup. Image credit: Getty

The French team wanted to demonstrate this loss and their support for their manager by wearing black armbands for this clash; however, FIFA denied them this request.

As per the Athletic, the French Football Federation stated before this match that there would be a minute’s silence for Deschamps' late mother.

However, only minutes later the FFF issued a clarification around the minutes' silence, as it had been prearranged in honour of the victims of the Venezuelan earthquake.

This led to the FFF requesting to wear black armbands, yet this was denied by FIFA.

France made easy work of Norway in this match as Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat trick within 32 minutes of kick-off, with Norway’s only goal coming through Thelo Aasgaard as he made it 2-1 after the PSG forward’s second.

Norway could have made it 3-2 in the 50th minute when Theo Hernandez brought down Oscar Bobb in the penalty area, but Jørgen Strand Larsen saw his resulting spot-kick saved by Mike Maignan.

Désiré Doué would make it 4-1 in second half stoppage time with a smart header, wrapping up all three points for the two-time World Cup winners.