Kylian Mbappé has played down concerns over what he described as a “knock on his ankle” during France‘s 2-0 World Cup quarterfinal win over Morocco on Thursday, saying “I’m all good.”
Mbappé received treatment on the pitch from the France physio before being substituted in the 77th minute and replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The 27-year-old walked off the pitch, applauding the crowd as he did so and did not appear to be in extreme pain. Television footage subsequently showed Mbappé sitting on the bench with ice strapped to his right foot.
“I’m all good. I got a knock on the ankle but it’s all good. JP [Mateta] was more able than me to play the last 15 minutes” Mbappé said after the game.
“There are no concerns to have on Kylian’s ankle,” a source added to ESPN.
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Mbappé was leading the celebrations with the fans on the pitch after the victory and also inside the team’s changing room, with a smile on his face.
France’s 2-0 win over Morocco comes four years after they won by the same scoreline in their semifinal meeting in Qatar. Mbappé explained the French mindset going into the game against a team they knew well.
Mbappé is close friends with Morocco captain and his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Achraf Hakimi.
Six Moroccan players were born in France and many players of both teams enjoy a close relationship.
“Here, there is no sentiment. There are no emotions. I’m here to win and he [Hakimi] was here to win too,” Mbappé said. “But it’s true that when I will go to see him in the dressing room, it will hit me, because he is a very close friend.”
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Having missed a first-half penalty, the France captain moved level with Lionel Messi at the top of the scoring chart with his eighth goal of the tournament as he fired an effort past Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou from the edge of the area.
His assist for Ousmane Dembélé’s goal six minutes later was his third of the tournament.
Mbappé has now registered 10+ goal involvements in both of the last two World Cups (8 goals, 2 assists in 2022, 8 goals 3 assists in 2026) — he’s only player on record (since 1966) to achieve this in two different tournaments.
His 11 in 2026 are the most by a single player since Gerd Müller in 1970 (10 goals, 3 assists).
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France will play either Spain or Belgium in the semifinals in Dallas, Texas, on July 14.
“We are very happy. We are aware that there is only one way to relax, it’s to win. But we still have a long way. We know that what is coming next will be even harder but we are ready for face anything,” added Mbappé.
“We will recover nicely and watch the game tomorrow to see who we will face.”
Information from ESPN’s Global Sports Research contributed to this story.
