France defeated Azerbaijan 3-0 on Friday and moved closer to qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but Kylian Mbappé suffered an injury.
Published October 11, 2025
France have confirmed that Kylian Mbappé will miss Monday’s Iceland qualifier, which could secure him a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, due to another bruise on his right ankle.
Mbappe, who was already suffering from a “small lump” in his right ankle from playing for Real Madrid, was substituted before the end of the game after taking two knocks and scoring the opening goal in Friday’s 3-0 World Cup qualifier win over Azerbaijan in Paris.
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The France captain’s absence adds to a long list of forwards who will miss October’s World Cup qualifiers, including Ousmane Dembélé, Desir Douai, Marcus Thuram and Bradley Barcola.
Mbappé “will not be available for Monday’s game against Iceland,” the French Football Federation (FFF) said in a statement.
After returning to the Clairefontaine training ground on Friday night, “the captain of the French team spoke with Didier Deschamps (coach)” and Deschamps “acknowledged his absence”.
FFF added that Mbappé “has been released to his club (Real Madrid) and there is no replacement.”
The French superstar had already been absent from training with Les Bleus that week with the same issue.
Mbappe scored just before half-time, but was then tackled by Rustam Ahmedzadeh. Towards the end of the match, he hit the same ankle again and was replaced by Florian Thaubin.
“He had pain in his ankle and he got a bruise there. He wanted to take it off. The pain was a lot,” Deschamps said after France’s victory.
Adrien Rabiot and substitute Thauvin also got on the scoresheet as Deschamps’ side remain unbeaten in three games and top Group D.
Les Bleus will secure a spot in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year if they win against Iceland on Monday and Ukraine fail to beat Azerbaijan.
