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07/14/26 12:50:00
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07/14 12:49 CDT Kylian Mbapp in for France in World Cup semifinals against
Spain after 'slight' ankle injury
Kylian Mbapp in for France in World Cup semifinals against Spain after
'slight' ankle injury
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) --- Kylian Mbapp is in France's starting lineup for
Tuesday's World Cup semifinal match against Spain after the striker exited in
the 77th minute of the team's quarterfinal win over Morocco.
Mbapp scored his eighth goal against Morocco and enters the semifinals even
with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. The
39-year-old Messi has a World Cup-record 21 goals in his career, one more than
the 27-year-old Mbapp.
France coach Didier Deschamps said Mbapp was fine physically after the early
exit against Morocco with what was described as a "slight" right ankle injury.
The France captain is among six players to start all seven World Cup matches
for the team, along with fellow forward Ousmane Dembele and goalkeeper Mike
Maignan.
For the sixth time in seven games, Spain forward Mikel Merino will come off the
bench. The versatile Arsenal player scored the winning goals within minutes of
coming on as a late substitute in a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the round of
16 and a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Belgium.
Lamine Yamal will start his sixth consecutive game for Spain a day after his
19th birthday. The Barcelona forward came off the bench in a 0-0 draw in the
team's opener against Cape Verde, the tiny island nation that turned into one
of the World Cup's biggest surprises.
Spain forward Nico Williams, who has been battling a muscle injury since the
group stage finale against Uruguay, wasn't in the lineup. He came off the bench
in all three group matches before missing the first two knockout games.
Williams entered in the 79th minute against Belgium.
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