ARLINGTON, Tex. — France coach Didier Deschamps said that forward Kylian Mbappe is “100 per cent” fit and will be ready for Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final against Spain.Mbappe left France’s quarter-final win over Morocco in the 77th minute with what he called a “minor ankle injury.” He said afterwards that he was “completely fine,” but a hint of concern lingered as the semi-final approached.On Monday afternoon, during the early portion of a training session that was open to media, Mbappe trained separately from most team-mates, and RMC Sport reported that he is still experiencing discomfort in the ankle.But Deschamps, speaking a few hours later at a news conference on the eve of the match, said via an interpreter that Mbappe “feels good.”He downplayed the portion of the session that reporters saw and said that Mbappe did train. “He has the right, like others, to go 15 minutes instead of 20 minutes on a drill,” Deschamps said.
On midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who has not played in France’s last two games due to injury, Deschamps said, “Even though he was on the bench for the last game, the risk was still high. He’s better today. I’m not going to say he has been 100 per cent cured. He’s now available.”Tchouameni is in line to return from injury against Spain (Jewel Samad / AFP via Getty Images)The expectation is that Real Madrid star Mbappe will start against Spain, as he has for France throughout the tournament.That aligns with Mbappe’s words after the Morocco game. After scoring the opening goal and helping create France’s second, as his team saw out a 2-0 win, he was replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace.“Mateta was in a better position to play the remaining minutes of the match and was fitter at that moment,” Mbappe said. “That’s all that happened.”Mbappe is the joint-top scorer alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi at this summer’s tournament, netting eight goals in his six appearances so far. He has also recorded three assists, two more than Messi, which is used as a tiebreaker in deciding the Golden Boot.The 4-1 group-stage win against Norway is the only match in which Mbappe has failed to score, while he netted twice in the victories against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden.Mbappe has captained France since March 2023, when he succeeded goalkeeper Hugo Lloris following his international retirement.The striker netted a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final, as France were beaten by Argentina on penalties.Mbappe came into the World Cup after a disrupted second half of the 2025-26 season with Real Madrid. He missed the Champions League knockout phase play-off second leg against Benfica and the subsequent last-16 first leg against Manchester City with a left-knee issue. He also missed the Clasico fixture against Barcelona in May with a hamstring problem.Jul 13, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
