Kylian Mbappe starred with a goal and an assist as France defeated Azerbaijan 3-0 to maintain their unbeaten run in World Cup qualifiers despite the captain’s late ankle injury.
Kylian Mbappe inspired France to a 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan in their World Cup qualifying match at Parc des Princes on Friday, extending Les Bleus’ unbeaten run and keeping them top of Group D
The 26-year-old opened the scoring just before halftime and later set up Adrien Rabiot’s header for the second, before substitute Florian Thauvin sealed the win. France, missing several key forwards through injury, now have nine points from three games and could secure qualification on Monday in Iceland.
Mbappe was substituted late on after taking a knock to his ankle. “He had a sore ankle… he preferred to come off because the pain had become quite intense,” said coach Didier Deschamps.
Despite the comfortable scoreline, Deschamps admitted his side’s display was below par. “We got the result we wanted but not the performance — especially in the first half,” he told reporters.