New France boss Zinedine Zidane has strongly suggested he expects Kylian Mbappe to leave his Nations League squad with a knee injury sustained by the country’s all-time top scorer during their opening victory in Turkey on Friday.
Real Madrid striker Mbappe collected Michael Olise’s pass inside the box and drilled in the only goal of the game after 54 minutes, grimacing as the ball hit the net and making way for Desire Doue shortly afterwards
⚽️ BUUUUUUT DE MBAPPÉ ! 🇫🇷🔥
Le capitaine des Bleus ouvre le score et délivre la France ! 🤩
🇹🇷 Turquie 0-1 France 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/QU1KfUv345
— TF1 (@TF1) September 25, 2026
“He’s not good,” Bleus legend Zidane told TF1 (via L’Equipe) after his first match in charge, which was the first of four Nations League games for the former champions until October 5.
“He developed hyperextension in his knee from the shot. He had to come off. We’re not going to take any risks. It’s not very encouraging for him to be able to continue [with the squad].”
Turkey vs France: Kylian Mbappe injury
With Madrid faltering in recent weeks, Blancos head coach Jose Mourinho now has an extra concern that his side could be without last season’s Liga top scorer when they next play on October 10.
Madrid’s defeat at Atleti last Sunday was their second in five games and has left them six points shy of leaders Barcelona at the start of Mourinho’s second spell in charge.
Seven of the nine Madrid games Mbappe missed last season were because of knee issues, sitting out six weeks already during 2026.
What’s next? France Nations League fixtures
France are next in action on Monday.
| Date | Fixture | BST start time | ET | PT |
| Sept 28 | Belgium vs France | 19:45 | 14:45 | 11:45 |
For live coverage details around the world, visit UEFA’s Nations League international broadcaster list.
Turkey vs France Nations League stats
- This was Turkey’s 655th match of all time across a record spanning 260 wins and 244 defeats, including a 4-1 victory over Georgia in World Cup qualifying last year in their only previous game at the Kocaeli Stadyumu
- They had played in the city of Kocaeli before, beating Chile 1–0 in a friendly in 2008 courtesy of Halil Altıntop’s second-half goal
- Turkey’s only win over France came in their sole competitive home game in the fixture, prevailing 2-0 in EURO qualifying in June 2019 courtesy of goals from Cengiz Under and Kaan Ayhan
- Including friendlies, Turkey had lost one of their preceding nine matches in Turkey (W7 D1), the exception being a 6-0 defeat to current world champions Spain in World Cup qualifying last September
- France have won five of the seven meetings between these teams, who shared their only draw in their most recent previous meeting in 2019, scoring a goal apiece in EURO qualifying at the Stade de France
- This was France’s 944th match since 1904, amassing 481 wins, 195 draws and 268 defeats while scoring 1,712 goals and conceding 1,272
- Mbappe is France’s 67-goal record scorer and ninth most-capped player, level with Patrick Vieira and one behind Zidane’s total
- Each of France’s last 10 goals have come after the 47th minute, with five scored by Mbappe and two by Ousmane Dembele, who scored each of his after the 65th minute
- They had scored at least twice in five of their preceding six Nations League matches outside of France, failing to do so in a 2-0 defeat to Croatia in Split in March 2025, although they won the return match 2-0 and advanced to the semi-finals on penalties
