Kylian Mbappe edged closer to France’s all-time goalscoring record and Les Bleus took a giant step towards World Cup qualification with a routine win over Azerbaijan tonight.
Mbappe started the night five goals behind Olivier Giroud’s record of 57 but moved one closer after opening the scoring at the Parc des Princes.
Adrien Rabiot added a second and the recalled Florian Thauvin a brilliant late third for Didier Deschamps’ side, who are now five points clear of second-placed Ukraine at the top of Group D and well on course to secure a place in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.
The only blot on the evening was the sight of Mbappe limping off with eight minutes to go after seemingly suffering a recurrence of his ankle injury.
Mbappe opens with a flourish
Mbappe spoke yesterday of the possibility of moving past Giroud’s mark tonight and he gave an early indication of his determination with a low drive that brought a save from Azerbaijan goalkeeper Shakhruddin Magomedaliyev.
Malo Gusto was also denied by Magomedaliyev after 10 minutes as France probed for the opener.
The fast start gradually gave way to stalemate, however, as France dominated possession but did little with it against an Azerbaijani side happy to sit in a low block and frustrate.
Michael Olise was making little headway on the right flank while Hugo Ekitike was a peripheral figure alongside Mbappe.
It needed something special to break the ice and it came, predictably, from captain and talisman Mbappe in first-half stoppage time.
There seemed little danger when the Real Madrid star picked the ball up 50 yards from goal but he accelerated past two defenders, played a slightly fortuitous one-two with Ekitike before slotting a shot past Magomedaliyev and into the bottom right-hand corner.
Ekitike nearly added a second within four minutes of the restart, his effort hitting the post, before the game settled back into a familiar pattern of attack versus defence.
Mbappe came close with another trademark burst only to be denied by a great block from Behlul Mustafazade while Magomedaliyev kept out a rasping effort from Khephren Thuram.
It seemed a second goal had to come and it duly arrived courtesy of Rabiot, the Milan midfielder nodding in Mbappe’s centre after 69 minutes.
Mateta makes debut before Thauvin scores cracker
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta was brought on for his France debut before Thauvin was introduced in place of Mbappe for his first appearance since a Euro 2020 qualifier against Andorra in June 2019.
His impact was instant, turning home Theo Hernandez’s cross with a brilliant scissor kick.
Before tonight, Florian Thauvin’s last call up for France came over 6 years ago.
On his return, he scored with his first touch of the ball 🤩 pic.twitter.com/A4UUd2TF61
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 10, 2025
