Kylian Mbappe has given France the lead in their World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. The Real Madrid star stepped up and cooly converted from the penalty spot, adding a bit of flair to his finish with a panenka down the middle of the goal.
The moment came after Michael Olise was tripped in the box, having latched on to a beautiful Rayan Cherki pass at the start of the second half.
Mbappe’s goal takes him above the legendary Thierry Henry on the all-time scoring charts for France, netting for the 52nd time while representing Les Bleus.
You can watch the moment he made history below.
France starting lineup vs Ukraine
Paris Saint-Germain forwards Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, Tottenham striker Randal Kolo Muani, Milan midfielder Adrien Rabiot and Real Madrid counterpart Aurelien Tchouameni were sidelined for France.
Al-Ittihad midfielder N’Golo Kante made his first international appearance since November 2024 and Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki started.
France starting XI: Mike Maignan, Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne, Michael Olise, N’Golo Kante, Rayan Cherki, Manu Kone, Bradley Barcola, Kylian Mbappe
France substitutes: Brice Samba, Malo Gusto, Khephren Thuram, Christopher Nkunku, Hugo Ekitike, Maghnes Akliouche, Ibrahima Konate, Warren Zaire-Emery, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Lucas Hernandez, Theo Hernandez, Lucas Chevalier
Ukraine starting lineup vs France
Roma forward Artem Dovbyk was out for Ukraine with a hip injury, while Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Volodymyr Brazhko missed out because of muscle discomfort.
Ukraine starting XI: Anatoliy Trubin, Oleksandr Karavaiev, Illia Zabarnyi, Oleksandr Svatok, Taras Mykhavko, Bohdan Mykhailichenko, Oleh Ocheretko, Yehor Yarmoliuk, Yehor Nazaryna, Oleksii Hutsuliak, Roman Yaremchuk
Ukraine substitutes: Yevhenii Volynets, Yukhym Konoplia, Valerii Bondar, Ivan Kaliuzhnyi, Vladyslav Vanat, Mykola Shaparenko, Viktor Tsygankov, Vitalii Mykolenko, Heorhii Sudakov, Nazar Voloshyn, Oleksandr Zubkov, Dmytro Riznyk
How to watch France vs Ukraine
Kick-off on Thursday was at 19:45 GMT (14:45 ET / 11:45 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Amazon Prime PPV, which charges £2.49 for the game.
September 5: Ukraine 0-2 France
September 9: France 2-1 Iceland
October 10: France 3-0 Azerbaijan
October 13: Iceland 2-2 France
November 13: France vs Ukraine
November 16: Azerbaijan vs France
France World Cup 2026 qualifying path
The top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the play-offs, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign. The games will comprise single-leg semi-finals and finals.
The draw for the World Cup finals will take place in December 2025. The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.