Mbappé starts France's World Cup semifinal against Spain despite ankle scare

Kylian Mbappé has been named in France’s starting lineup for Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal against Spain, clearing any doubt over his fitness after leaving the quarterfinal victory over Morocco in the 77th minute with a right ankle injury.

Coach Didier Deschamps confirmed the France captain was physically fine, describing the ankle problem as only “slight”. Mbappé scored his eighth goal of the tournament against Morocco and enters the semifinal level with Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Messi, 39, holds the all-time World Cup scoring record with 21 career goals — one ahead of the 27-year-old Mbappé.

Mbappé is one of six France players to have started all seven of the team’s World Cup matches, alongside forward Ousmane Dembélé and goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

On the Spain side, Lamine Yamal will start his sixth consecutive game, a day after his 19th birthday. The Barcelona forward came off the bench in the team’s opening 0-0 draw against Cape Verde before establishing himself as a fixture in the starting XI.

Mikel Merino, who scored decisive goals as a late substitute in both the round-of-16 win over Portugal and the quarterfinal victory over Belgium, is again named among the substitutes — making it six appearances from the bench in seven games for the Arsenal midfielder.

Spain forward Nico Williams, managing a muscle injury sustained during the group stage, is absent from the starting lineup. Williams missed the first two knockout games before entering as a substitute in the 79th minute against Belgium.