France captain Kylian Mbappe will miss Les Bleus’ World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan this weekend with an ankle injury, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Friday.
Real Madrid attacker Mbappe, 26, scored twice in Thursday’s 4-0 win over Ukraine which secured his country’s place in next year’s tournament but will be sidelined for Sunday’s Group D game in Baku.
“Kylian Mbappe has felt an inflammation in his right ankle that requires tests,” the FFF said.
“He will undergo them today in Madrid,” it added.
France coach Didier Deschamps will also be without Eduardo Camavinga due to injury and the suspended Manu Kone for their final game in the campaign.
Meanwhile, Mbappe hit a brace while Michael Olise and Hugo Ekitike also scored as France beat Ukraine 4-0 on Thursday to secure World Cup qualification after an evening marked by tributes to the victims of the 2015 Paris attacks.
Captain Mbappe coolly chipped in from the spot 10 minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes and the impressive Olise doubled their lead on 76 minutes.
Mbappe then struck again and Ekitike swept in a first goal for his country as France got the win they required to clinch their spot at the 2026 finals in North America.
A minute’s silence was impeccably observed ahead of kick-off by the 41,000 spectators as France marked the 10th anniversary of the attacks in and around Paris on Friday, November 13, 2015.
Most of the 130 people killed in the attacks lost their lives at the Bataclan concert hall in the capital.
But one person died near the Stade de France in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, where multiple explosions took place as suicide bombers attempted to enter the ground during a friendly between Les Bleus and Germany.
Didier Deschamps was the coach then and remains in charge now, with the approaching World Cup to be his final tournament before stepping down.
With one game still to come in Azerbaijan on Sunday, France have an unassailable six-point lead over both Iceland and Ukraine at the top of European qualifying Group D.
“Given the context tonight, we are pleased to have put some smiles on faces by securing qualification,” said Deschamps.
“We have fulfilled our objective. I understand that it is seen as normal that France qualify but we still had to go out and do it, so we are very proud.”
Winners of the World Cup in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, France maintain their record of having made it to every edition of the tournament since missing out on a place in the United States in 1994.
“We have qualified. There will be a new format, with more teams and more games,” Deschamps said of what will be the first 48-team finals.
“There will be lots of complications, but we have the obligation to try to go as far as possible.”
While France can now look forward to the draw for the finals, which takes place in Washington, DC, on December 5, Ukraine and Iceland meet each other on Sunday in a shoot-out to decide who continues on into the play-offs next March.
