Kylian Mbappe suffered a knee injury after scoring in France’s 1-0 Nations League victory over Turkiye, overshadowing Zinedine Zidane’s first match as national team coach.
The Real Madrid striker opened the scoring at the Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit with his 67th international goal, steering a low finish into the near post after being played in by Michael Olise.
Mbappe moved to the left wing under Zidane, having operated through the middle during the World Cup, where he finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 10 goals. He grimaced as team-mates celebrated and received treatment before attempting to continue.
He eventually dropped to the ground and appeared concerned as he prodded the outside of his left knee. The France captain walked off and was replaced by Desire Doue.
France and Real Madrid will now await further information on the extent of the injury. Les Bleus have three more matches over the next 10 days before club football resumes.
The result gave Zidane a winning start following his appointment in late July on a contract running until 2030. It was his first return to elite coaching since his second spell in charge of Madrid ended in 2021.
France goalkeeper Mike Maignan had earlier tipped an effort from Turkiye’s Abdulkerim Bardakci over the crossbar, while Olise saw a fine strike saved by Ugurcan Cakir before half-time. Jules Kounde later struck the post.
Turkiye were reduced to 10 men late in the match when Cakir was sent off after a VAR review found that he had handled the ball outside his area while stopping Bradley Barcola from running through on goal.
France will travel to Brussels to face Belgium on Monday, after Belgium beat Italy 2-0 away. Zidane will then take charge of his first home match against Italy at the Stade de France next Friday.
