BOSTON, June 25 (Reuters) - France will be aiming to secure top spot in their World Cup Group I on Friday when they take on equally in-form Norway to avoid the disruption of having to travel far from their base in Boston, assistant coach Guy Stephan said.
Speaking on Thursday in place of the team's World Cup-winning manager Didier Deschamps, who has returned to France for his mother's funeral, Stephan said central defender William Saliba would be missing against Norway and striker Marcus Thuram was
suffering with calf pain.
"First and foremost, we have qualified and it doesn't happen very often that after two games we have six points," Stephan told reporters on Thursday. "Didier wants to finish top, as the whole group does, because it would be completely different logistically. The travel times to different cities would be a lot longer if we finish second. And there's the issue of the temperatures too. First place is best."
Topping the group would mean the 2018 champions would be able to stay in Northeastern United States until the quarter-finals while the team that finishes second faces the prospect of travelling long distances to Dallas, Miami and Atlanta.
Stephan said he was in touch with Deschamps but expected little contact on Friday, the day of the funeral.
"We talk a lot when he's here, when he's not here. I speak to him a lot on the telephone. There won't be a lot of conversation tomorrow," Stephan said.
France and Norway have qualified for the knockout stage after they both won their first two games. France need only a draw at the home of the New England Patriots NFL team near Boston to finish top thanks to their superior goal difference.
(Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Ed Osmond)
