PARIS: France captain Kylian Mbapp&eacute; will miss his team&#39;s World Cup qualifier against Iceland on Monday because of a right ankle injury, the French soccer federation said Saturday. The Real Madrid star scored in France&#39;s 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan on Friday but limped off the field in the 83rd minute. Just before the international break, he had hurt the same ankle while playing against Villarreal. France confirmed that its star forward would not make the trip to Reykjavik and that he would return to Real Madrid. France, runner-up at the 2022 World Cup, is off to a perfect start in the qualification process for the 2026 edition. It has won all three of its games in Group D.

Football

France captain Kylian Mbappé will miss Monday’s World Cup qualifier against Iceland due to a right ankle injury. He’ll return to Real Madrid after exiting late in Friday’s win over Azerbaijan.

Mbappé to miss France's World Cup qualifier vs. Iceland because of ankle injury

SAO PAULO: Brazilian legend Ronaldo has urged Selecao&#39;s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti to reinstate Neymar to the team for next year&#39;s World Cup in North America. Brazil&#39;s record goalscorer, with 79 goals from 128 matches, Neymar, has not worn the yellow jersey since October 2023, when he suffered a serious knee injury. The 33-year-old has played regularly for the Sao Paulo side Santos since he returned to his first club in January following a fruitless spell in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal. Even so, in his four matches in charge, Ancelotti has not called up Neymar. &quot;He is a decisive player for the Brazilian Selecao. We don&#39;t have another player like Neymar,&quot; Ronaldo, who twice won the World Cup with Brazil, said during a publicity event in Sao Paulo alongside his compatriot. &quot;The people hope 100% that he will go to the World Cup because if he is there, we will definitely have better results than if he&#39;s not there,&quot; added Ronaldo, 49, who scored 62 goals in 99 Brazil games. Neymar has been plagued by injuries in the last few years and missed Brazil&#39;s Copa America triumph on home soil in 2019. He joined Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023 but after playing just five times and scoring one goal, he ruptured his cruciate knee ligament on international duty against Uruguay. He was out of action for a year and would play only two more games for the Saudi side before leaving for Santos. After leaving Neymar out of his squad for World Cup qualifiers in September, Ancelotti said that he &quot;needs to get in better shape to help the national team and to give the best of himself at the World Cup.&quot;

Ancelotti says Neymar "needs to get in better shape to help the national team and to give the best of himself at the World Cup."

Ronaldo calls on Ancelotti to pick Neymar for World Cup

BERLIN: Former Germany defender Jerome Boateng, who won the World Cup in 2014, formally announced his retirement from the game on Friday.The 37-year-old center-back uploaded a minute-long clip to his social media channels on Friday, bidding farewell to the game.&quot;I played for a long time, for big clubs, for my country. I learned, won, lost, and grew through it all,&quot; Boateng said in a clip uploaded to Instagram, which included highlights from his career.<div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOyxDAUjJlo/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com&rp=%2Farticles%2Fnew#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2957380.899999991%2C%22ls%22%3A2945.2999999970198%2C%22le%22%3A6647.79999999702%7D" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="635" scrolling="no" style="background: white; max-width: 540px; width: calc(100% - 2px); border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219); box-shadow: none; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px;"></iframe></div>&quot;Football has given me a lot, now it&#39;s time to move on. Not because I have to, but because I&#39;m ready.&quot;I&#39;m grateful to the teams, the fans, the people who supported me. And above all, my family, my children. They&#39;ve always been there for me.&quot;The defender played 76 times for Germany, scoring once.Champions League titles&nbsp;Boateng won two Champions League titles with Bayern Munich, in 2013 and 2020, as well as nine Bundesliga crowns.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1969129662572818826&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=a94bf96b27611c24d7561a24a9dce419698efef6&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-twitter-extracted-i1758315993374891586="true">German Champion, Cup and Champions League winner, World Champion: J&eacute;r&ocirc;me Boateng has announced his retirement in a glittering career. Thank you for your time at FC Bayern! 🔴⚪️ <a href="https://t.co/Dov8vNT0en">pic.twitter.com/Dov8vNT0en</a>&mdash; FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/FCBayernEN/status/1969129662572818826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2025</a></blockquote></div>Born in Berlin, Boateng came through the Hertha Berlin academy alongside his half-brother Kevin-Prince, who is one year his senior.After brief spells at Hamburg and Manchester City, Jerome Boateng moved to Bayern.Since leaving Bayern in 2021, Boateng bounced around clubs in several countries, playing for Lyon in France, Salernitana in Italy and LASK in Austria.He terminated his contract with LASK in mid-August.

Jerome Boateng, 2014 World Cup winner and former Germany defender, announced his retirement at 37. He won two Champions League titles with Bayern Munich and played 76 times for Germany.

Germany World Cup winner Jerome Boateng announces retirement

Reuters

Mbappe stars as 10-man Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 2-1 to extend perfect LaLiga start.

Articles tagged with "Football"

Mbappé to miss France's World Cup qualifier vs. Iceland because of ankle injury

Ronaldo calls on Ancelotti to pick Neymar for World Cup

Germany World Cup winner Jerome Boateng announces retirement

Mbappe shines as 10-Man Real Madrid hold on for 2-1 victory at Real Sociedad

Mbappé to miss France's World Cup qualifier vs. Iceland because of ankle injury