France coach Zidane gives latest news on Kylian Mbappe’s knee injury: “He’s not good”

by

New France coach Zinedine Zidane has strongly hinted that he expects Kylian Mbappe to leave his Nations League squad with a knee injury that France’s all-time top scorer suffered in Friday’s opening win in Turkey.

real madrid striker Mbappe He scored the only goal of the game in the 54th minute after receiving a pass from Michael Olise in the penalty area, grimacing as the ball hit the net and making way for Desire Doue moments later.

“He’s not good,” Blues legend Zidane told TF1 (via team) following his first game in charge, the first of four Nations League games for the former champions before October 5.

“His knee hyperextended from the shot. He had to come off. We weren’t taking any chances. It wasn’t very encouraging for him to be able to continue playing.” [with the squad]”.

Türkiye vs France: Kylian Mbappe injured

With Madrid slumping in recent weeks, Los Blancos boss Jose Mourinho is now more concerned that his side could be without last season’s La Liga top scorer when they next play on October 10.

Real Madrid’s defeat to Atletico last Sunday was their second defeat in five games and leaves them six points behind leaders Barcelona at the start of Mourinho’s second spell in charge.

Mbappe missed seven of the nine Madrid games last season due to knee problems and has already missed six weeks in 2026.

What to do next? French National League schedule

France will take action on Monday.

datefixtureDaylight saving time start timeETPT
September 28Belgium vs France19:4514:4511:45

For details of live coverage around the world, visit UEFA’s List of Nations League International Broadcasters.

Türkiye vs France National League Statistics

  • It was the 655th game in Turkey’s history, with a record of 260 wins and 244 defeats, including a 4-1 victory over Georgia in last year’s World Cup qualifiers, their only game at the Kocaeli Stadium.
  • They have previously played in the city of Kocaeli, beating Chile 1-0 in a friendly in 2008 thanks to Khalil Altintop’s second-half goal
  • Turkey’s only win against France came in their only home match, a 2-0 win in the European qualifiers in June 2019 thanks to goals from Cengiz Under and Kaan Ayhan
  • Including friendlies, Turkey has lost one of its first nine games (7 wins, 1 draw), with the exception of last September’s 6-0 defeat of current world champions Spain in a World Cup qualifier.
  • France have won five of the seven meetings between these two teams and recorded the only draw in their most recent meeting in 2019, with one goal each in a European Cup qualifier at the Stade de France
  • This is the 944th game played by the French team since 1904, with 481 wins, 195 draws, 268 losses, 1,712 goals scored, and 1,272 goals conceded.
  • Mbappe is France’s record goalscorer with 67 goals and the ninth-most capped player, level with Patrick Vieira and just one goal behind Zidane
  • The French team’s last 10 goals were all scored after the 47th minute, of which Mbappe scored 5 goals and Dembele scored 2 goals in the 65th minute.
  • They have scored at least one goal in five of their first six Nations League games outside France, but failed to achieve that goal in a 2-0 win over Croatia in Split in March 2025, although they won the second game 2-0 and advanced to the semi-finals on penalties.

Leave a Comment