Kylian Mbappe will be absent for Monday’s World Cup qualifier in Iceland, where France could secure their spot in the 2026 tournament, after suffering another knock to his already sore right ankle, the French team confirmed.
Mbappe, who was already managing a “small niggle” in his right ankle from playing for Real Madrid, sustained two hits during Friday’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Azerbaijan in Paris. He opened the scoring but was substituted before the match ended.
The France captain’s unavailability adds to the growing list of forwards missing for October’s qualifiers, which includes Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Marcus Thuram, and Bradley Barcola.
Mbappe “will not be able to play Monday against Iceland,” a French Football Federation (FFF) statement said.
After returning to the Clairefontaine training ground on Friday night, “the French team captain spoke with (coach) Didier Deschamps,” who “acknowledged his absence.”
Mbappe “has been released to his club (Real Madrid) and will not be replaced,” the FFF added.
The French star had already skipped training with Les Bleus earlier in the week due to the same issue.
Mbappe scored just before halftime but was then hit by a tackle from Rustam Ahmedzade and took another knock to the same ankle late in the game, leading to his substitution by Florian Thauvin.
“He has a sore ankle and he took a knock there. He preferred to come off; the pain was quite significant,” Deschamps said after the win.
Adrien Rabiot and substitute Thauvin also scored as Deschamps’s side remain unbeaten after three games and sit atop Group D.
Les Bleus can confirm their place in next year’s United States, Canada, and Mexico World Cup if they win in Iceland on Monday and Ukraine fail to defeat Azerbaijan.
