Kylian Mbappe delivers key injury update after steering France past Morocco at World Cup

France captain Kylian Mbappé insisted on Thursday that his side are not getting carried away about their prospects of winning another FIFA World Cup, despite securing a semi-final berth with a clinical 2-0 victory over Morocco.

“I don’t know if you can say we are on a mission; that is the easy term to use. But I think we are aware that the only way to let up is by winning,” Mbappé told French broadcaster M6 after an eventful quarter-final tie in Foxborough, during which he saw a first-half penalty saved before later breaking the deadlock.

“We are in the semi-finals and we are very pleased. There is still a long way to go and we are aware that what awaits is going to be even harder, but we are ready,” the Real Madrid superstar added.

“We are ready to confront everything we come up against, so we will recuperate in peace and watch tomorrow’s match to find out who we will face next.”

Mbappé also had a hand in Ousmane Dembélé’s second-half strike which sealed the win for Les Bleus at Gillette Stadium, before being substituted late on after taking a heavy knock to his ankle, making way for Jean-Philippe Mateta.

“I’m fine. I took a knock on the ankle but I’m fine,” Mbappé reassured fans. “I think at that point, JP was more prepared than me to play the final 15 minutes, so I came off.”

The skipper expects to be fit for the semi-finals, with France now heading to Dallas to play the victor of Friday’s heavyweight quarter-final clash between European champions Spain and Belgium. That mouthwatering last-four tie will take place next Tuesday, July 14.

France lifted their maiden World Cup trophy on home soil in 1998 and secured their second crown in Russia in 2018, before suffering a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the 2022 showpiece in Qatar.

AFP