Kylian Mbappe is undoubtedly France‘s best player in the 2026 World Cup. With eight goals, he is the co-leading top scorer in the tournament after scoring vs. Morocco. However, alarms went off when he left the field with an apparent injury.
Mbappe said the following in a postgame interview, “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.“
Hence, Mbappe is setting the alarms off. He is right, he got hit in the ankle and given that the game was already heavily leaned in France’s favor, he opted to not finish the match vs. Morocco. Manager Didier Deschamps also spoke on Mbappe’s ankle injury, confirming the striker’s words.
Mbappe missed a penalty but still won Man of the Match vs Morocco
Mbappe might have missed a penalty vs Morocco, but then scored a worldie and assisted Ousmane Dembele for France’s statement goal over the Atlas Lions. Hence, the redemption was outstanding.
🍿✨ Kylian Mbappé receives yet another FIFA Man of the Match Award. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nw2vss6YX0
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 9, 2026
Mbappe is just too impactful for France. As Mike Grella of CBS Sports put it, “90 minutes is too long. They need to shorten the game if they want to stop him.” However, Mbappe didn’t even play the full 90 minutes vs Morocco and was still unstoppable.
Mbappe will be ready for France’s semifinal matchup
France already knows when and where they’ll play the semifinals, just not who yet. What Les Bleus also know is that Kylian Mbappe will play, as the ankle hit is very minor and won’t represent any absence from the 2026 World Cup.
Given that Mbappe has 20 goals in 20 appearances in the World Cup, this is magnificent news for France. While they have a plethora of talented players, Mbappe was born for this tournament.
