The status field is not taken into account when creating a modern site.

The status field is not assigned to the Content Type "O365 Group" by default. Therefore, the default value of this field is not taken into account (It is possible that you have a different Content Type than O365 Group).

You have to associate the status field with the corresponding Content Type.

Move to List Settings in the ribbon bar and choose the Content Type (e.g. O365 Group). Click 'Add from existing site or list columns' and add the status field.