Kylian Mbappe eased fears over his fitness after inspiring France to a 2-0 victory over Morocco in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals on Thursday. The France captain, who recovered from an early penalty miss to score a stunning goal and set up Ousmane Dembele for the second, was substituted late in the second half after appearing to injure his right ankle, briefly sparking concerns ahead of the semi-finals.
The injury scare stemmed shortly after Mbappe had opened the scoring with a sublime curling strike into the far corner. In the 62nd minute, just two minutes after putting France ahead, Moroccan defender Issa Diop caught the forward with a heavy challenge as he burst towards goal.
Diop was immediately shown a yellow card, while Mbappe remained on the turf in visible discomfort. However, the 27-year-old initially shook off the knock and continued playing, even providing the assist for Dembele's goal in the 66th minute, before signaling to the bench a few minutes later. France coach Didier Deschamps eventually replaced him with Jean-Philippe Mateta in the 77th minute as a precaution.
Television cameras later showed Mbappe on the substitutes' bench with a large ice pack strapped to his right ankle, further fueling speculation over the severity of the injury just days before France's FIFA World Cup semi-final.
However, Deschamps quickly played down the concerns after the match.
"For Kylian, there's no problem. He felt a little pain in his ankle, but it's normal. He never doubts himself, even in physical and tough games. He is a guy who gives us so much."
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Mbappe also reassured supporters, insisting the substitution was a precaution rather than a necessity.
"I'm okay, I took a blow to the ankle but I'm fine. At that moment, JP [Mateta] was better suited than I was to play the final 15 minutes, so I came off and he came on. It's good, plus he almost scored."
Despite the injury scare, Mbappe enjoyed another landmark night in a France shirt. His stunning strike against Morocco was his eighth goal of the tournament, lifting him back to the top of the Golden Boot standings ahead of Lionel Messi on the official tiebreaker thanks to his three assists. The assist for Ousmane Dembele's goal also took Mbappe to 11 goal involvements (eight goals, three assists) at the 2026 World Cup.
As a result, Mbappe is now the first player since records began in 1966 to register at least 10 goal involvements in two different World Cups, having managed 10 (eight goals and two assists) in Qatar four years ago. His goal was also the 20th of his World Cup career in just 20 appearances, leaving him just one goal behind Lionel Messi's all-time tournament record.
The strike also made him the outright leading scorer in FIFA World Cup knockout-stage history with 12 goals, while his goal and assist took his overall tally for France to 101 goal involvements (64 goals and 37 assists), making him the first player to register more than 100 goal involvements for Les Bleus.
Any lingering doubts regarding the severity of the injury appeared to disappear at the final whistle. Mbappe removed the ice pack, joined his teammates on the pitch and celebrated exuberantly with the travelling France supporters after Les Bleus became the first team to book their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals.
France will now have five days to prepare for their last-four clash against either Spain or Belgium on July 14.
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