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France coach Zinedine Zidane said Saturday that captain Kylian Mbappe can play in Sunday’s final Nations League group game against Türkiye, with Les Bleus, as the French national team is nicknamed, chasing a quarter-finals berth.
The Real Madrid forward sat out Thursday’s loss to Italy, the leaders of Group A1, because of a hamstring problem. “He will be with us tomorrow (Sunday),” Zidane said. Group A1 is one of four groups in League A, the top tier of the UEFA Nations League.
Mbappe has scored 17 goals in all competitions for his club this season. He rejoined the France squad for this international window after missing the team’s three previous matches with an injury. Zidane said having him back “changes everything,” adding: “I’d rather have him with us than not.”
The 54-year-old, who won the 1998 World Cup with France and the European Championship two years later, rejected talk of a rift with his star striker and described their relationship as going “perfectly.” “I can’t stop people saying what they’re saying, but it’s nonsense and quite irritating,” he said.
Zidane’s first game in charge of France was a 1-0 away win over Türkiye in Kocaeli on Sept. 25. Mbappe scored the only goal nine minutes into the second half but went off with a knee injury. Thursday’s 3-1 defeat to Italy in Milan was Zidane’s first loss as coach.
France sits second in Group A1 on 10 points, level with Italy and a point clear of third-placed Belgium. A draw with Türkiye in Bordeaux would be enough to book a place in the quarter-finals. Belgium hosts Italy in the group’s other match on Sunday. Kickoff in Bordeaux is at 8:45 p.m. local time (7:45 p.m. GMT) on Nov. 15.
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