Kylian Mbappé Cleared to Play for France in World Cup Semifinal
French superstar Kylian Mbappé has scored 20 World Cup goals in 20 World Cup appearances. He is set to return to the pitch on Tuesday against Spain in the 2026 World Cup, according to his manager, Didier Deschamps, who told reporters that Mbappé is “100%” ready for the semifinal match.
Mbappé left France’s quarterfinal victory over Morocco last week in the 77th minute with what Deschamps described as a “minor ankle injury,” per The Athletic. While the 27-year-old downplayed the injury after the match, fans and observers have monitored his status closely since the incident.
Deschamps’ comments addressed a report from RMC Sport suggesting Mbappé still felt discomfort in his right ankle. During a portion of training open to the media, Mbappé practiced separately from most of his teammates.
However, Deschamps noted via an interpreter that Mbappé “feels good,” according to The Athletic. He minimized the significance of the training session that reporters observed.
“He has the right, like others, to go 15 minutes instead of 20 minutes on a drill,” Deschamps stated.
Mbappé has served as France’s captain since March 2023. He has recorded eight goals in this year’s World Cup, along with three assists that could prove crucial in the Golden Boot race. Because assists serve as the tiebreaker for the award, he currently leads Argentine star Lionel Messi, who also has eight goals but only two assists. Messi will lead Argentina against England in a separate semifinal match on Wednesday.
Messi, 39, holds the current record with 21 total World Cup goals. In this year’s tournament, both Messi and Mbappé surpassed Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals, and Brazil’s Marta, who remains the leader on the women’s World Cup goal-scoring list with 17.
Mbappé won the Golden Boot during the 2022 World Cup, a tournament that ended with his team losing to Argentina in a final decided by penalty kicks. Messi has never won the Golden Boot award.
The two stars remain on a potential path to face each other again, which could determine the winner of both the World Cup title and the Golden Boot.