PARIS (AP) — France striker Kylian Mbappé won't travel with his teammates to Azerbaijan after the two-time champions secured a place at next year's World Cup, the national soccer federation said on Friday.
Mbappé scored twice Thursday as France booked its spot for the tournament with a 4-0 win against Ukraine in Paris. They were his 399th and 400th senior career goals.
The French federation (FFF) said Mbappé, who plays for Real Madrid, is “still feeling the effects of inflammation in his right ankle, which requires tests.” He will undergo medical exams in the Spanish capital later Friday.
Azerbaijan hosts France on Sunday in Group D.
France will also be without AS Roma midfielder Manu Koné and Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
Koné was booked against Ukraine and is suspended while Camavinga was hampered by muscle tension in his left hamstring, the FFF said.
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France's Kylian Mbappe scores his side's third goal during a World Cup 2026 group D qualifying soccer match between France and Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after wining a World Cup 2026 group D qualifying soccer match against Ukraine in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.
A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.
Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.
The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”
Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.
Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
