Kylian Mbappé showed little sign of a recent ankle injury as he scored with a slaloming run to help France beat Azerbaijan 3-0 in World Cup qualifying on Friday.
He added an assist for France's second goal but did have to limp off late after he had tussled for a ball with an opponent.
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France's Kylian Mbappe sits injured during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Kylian Mbappe is substituted during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Kylian Mbappe shoots during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France maintained a perfect record after three games, while Germany got back on track by easing to a 4-0 win over Luxembourg.
France dominated Azerbaijan but struggled to create opportunities and it took an individual effort from Mbappé to break the deadlock in first-half stoppage time.
The Real Madrid forward gathered the ball in midfield and dribbled through numerous players before slotting a shot into the bottom right corner.
He has now scored in 10 straight matches for club and country.
Mbappé is France’s second all-time scorer with 53 goals and needs five more to overtake Olivier Giroud for the No. 1 spot.
The 26-year-old Mbappé also set up France’s second goal with a lofted pass in the area for Adrien Rabiot to head home in the 69th minute.
Mbappé had been a doubt before the match with an injury to his right ankle and he appeared to hurt the same ankle late on, forcing him off in the 83rd minute.
His replacement, late call-up Florian Thauvin, immediately extended France’s advantage with his first goal for Les Bleus since scoring on his last international appearance six years ago.
France tops Group D with nine points, five more than Ukraine which scored two late goals to win 5-3 at Iceland after its opponents had fought back from two goals down.
Iceland has three points, with Azerbaijan bottom with just one point.
Germany’s campaign was thrown into immediate jeopardy when it lost to Slovakia last month. It now tops Group A — albeit only on goal difference — after Joshua Kimmich scored twice against Luxembourg, which played with 10 men for most of the match after defender Dirk Carlson was sent off in the 20th minute.
Northern Ireland beat Slovakia 2-0. Those two teams and Germany all have six points.
Belgium had 25 attempts on goal but was held to a 0-0 draw against North Macedonia, which tops Group J.
Belgium trails North Macedonia by one point — although it has played a match less. Wales is a point further back.
Kazakhstan is six points behind North Macedonia after crushing Liechtenstein 4-0.
Group B leader Switzerland made it three wins out of three, and with no goals conceded, as two second-half goals earned it a 2-0 win at Sweden.
Kosovo remained second, five points below Switzerland, after a 0-0 draw at home to Slovenia.
This story has been corrected to show that Germany, Slovakia and Northern Ireland all have six points.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
France's Kylian Mbappe sits injured during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Kylian Mbappe is substituted during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Kylian Mbappe shoots during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring during a World Cup 2026 Group D qualifying soccer match between France and Azerbaijan in Paris, France, on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Jamahl Mosley was fired as coach of the Orlando Magic on Monday, paying the widely expected price after the team blew a 3-1 series lead and got eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in Round 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity pending the team announcement.
It was Orlando’s third consecutive first-round playoff exit, and easily the most disappointing. Not only did the eighth-seeded Magic lose all three chances to upset the top-seeded Pistons, but one of those games saw Orlando have a 24-point second-half lead at home and still lose. Orlando missed 23 consecutive shots in that Game 6 loss on Friday, getting booed by fans when it was over.
That loss probably was the one that sealed Mosley’s fate, even though the loss in Game 7 at Detroit on Sunday was the one that ended the season.
Mosley is the third-winningest coach in Magic history, his 189 wins behind only Brian Hill (267) and Stan Van Gundy (259). He inherited a team that was in the early stages of a rebuild, with Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs entering the league as rookies in his first season and then the Magic winning the lottery to draft Paolo Banchero No. 1 overall before Mosley’s second season.
Orlando won 22 games in Mosley’s first season, improved to 34-48 in Year 2 and has been .500 or better in all three seasons since — 47-35 in 2023-24, 41-41 last season and 45-37 this season.
That makes the Magic one of 10 teams — Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City are the others — to have not finished below .500 in any of the last three seasons.
It wasn’t enough. And with much of the team’s core — Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, Desmond Bane and more — under contract for the foreseeable future, the Magic clearly felt the best way to shake things up was to bring in a new coach.
“It’s been absolutely amazing journey with these guys,” Mosley said. “Their ability to grow, communicate ... we’re going to fight until the final horn goes off. And that’s what you’ve seen for a majority of the five years.”
It is a roster in need of upgrading in some ways, shooting perhaps foremost among them after Orlando was only 27th in the 30-team league in 3-point percentage this season. Injuries have also been a major issue for the Magic, including in the playoffs — with Wagner unable to play in the final three games, all losses, against Detroit.
Mosley’s job security was a talking point for much of the season, especially amid reports that he and Banchero were not on the same page. In March, Banchero acknowledged that were some moments of conflict — but thought Orlando was better for going through that.
“We’re both competitors,” Banchero said when asked then about his relationship with Mosley. “There were times where I was frustrated and I wasn’t playing as well as I think I should be. But it never became me pointing the finger at him or being disrespectful. It was all constructive; he’s talking to me, I’m talking to him. And winning, it cures everything.”
Evidently, there wasn’t enough winning.
Mosley had two seasons left on an extension that he and the Magic agreed on in March 2024. The team lauded his “preparation, work ethic, ability to connect with the players and passion he brings to the job every day brings positive results, both on the court and off” when announcing that deal.
Barely two years later, he and the Magic were parting ways.
Only seven coaches have been in their current jobs longer than Mosley was with Orlando — Miami’s Erik Spoelstra (hired in 2008), Golden State’s Steve Kerr (2014), the Clippers’ Tyronn Lue (2020), Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault (2020), Minnesota’s Chris Finch (2021), Indiana’s Rick Carlisle (2021) and Dallas’ Jason Kidd (2021).
Mosley spent 15 years as an assistant in Denver, Cleveland and Dallas — and was often mentioned as a candidate for head-coaching jobs around the league over that span — before Orlando hired him. He had a long relationship with Magic basketball operations president Jeff Weltman, who first took note of Mosley when they worked together with the Nuggets.
Mosley was the 14th coach in Magic history, the 15th if counting Billy Donovan — who accepted the job in 2007, then had second thoughts and returned to the University of Florida. Donovan just left the Chicago Bulls after six seasons as their coach, which sparked speculation that he could be the frontrunner in Orlando if the Magic indeed would be moving on from Mosley.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley shouts to his team during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley directs his team against the Detroit Pistons during the first half in Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Friday, May 1, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley shouts at referee Curtis Blair (74) during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
