Mbappé nets late goal as France beat Ukraine, Dembélé hamstring fears

Kylian Mbappé scored a late solo goal as France opened their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine on Friday at Stadion Miejski in Poland, while concern grew over Ousmane Dembélé after the Paris Saint-Germain winger was forced off injured. Michael Olise put Les Bleus ahead in the 10th minute and Mbappé sealed the win in the 82nd, his strike moving him level with Thierry Henry on 51 goals for France.

Olise capitalized early, sliding in a pass from Bradley Barcola to give France the lead. The home side created several chances in the first half but were kept at bay by Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who produced a number of sharp saves. France dominated in a 4-2-3-1 shape for long spells before Mbappé broke clear late, collecting a long pass from Aurélien Tchouaméni and sprinting past Illia Zabarnyi to finish low and unerringly. Match reports say the goal was Mbappé's 51st in his international career, putting him joint second on France's all-time scorers list behind Olivier Giroud.

The game had an awkward subplot in the build-up and during the match involving Dembélé. L'Équipe reported that the winger missed a France training session earlier in the...