UEFA Nations League: France striker Kylian Mbappe tests positive for coronavirus ahead of Croatia clash

Paris: France and Paris Saint-Germain star forward Kylian Mbappe has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss France’s upcoming UEFA Nations league game against Croatia on Tuesday ( September 8).

The French football team announced the development from their official Twitter account.

Kylian Mbappé will miss the game against Croatia. His COVID-19 test - carried out by UEFA this morning - was positive, and he was isolated from the rest of the squad. pic.twitter.com/raCQsopF3R — French Team  (@FrenchTeam) September 7, 2020

Mbappe has been isolated from the rest of the squad, the tweet said.

The 21-year-old had scored France’s lone goal away against Sweden on Saturday which took them to a narrow 1-0 victory in their opening match of the Nations League.

Mbappe single-handedly beat two defenders before firing in a shot at the far post from an acute angle which opened France’s scoring. The pacy forward had started the game for the Les Bleus and looked lively throughout the evening. France had missed the chance to double their lead when Barcelona star Antoinne Griezmann missed a stoppage time penalty.

France have been handed a very tough group this time around in the Nations League with Croatia, Portugal and Sweden all gunning to qualify for the next round. Many fans and experts in the footballing circles have called it the group of death.

France, the reigning World Cup winners, will be without their stalwart when they take on Croatia at home in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final. France had won the World Cup final 4-2 with Mbappe scoring his side’s fourth goal. The then 19-year-old Mbappe was given the best young player of the tournament award.

Mbappe was in great form this past season, taking PSG to the Ligue 1 title and being instrumental in PSG’s maiden run to the Champions League final, where they were edged out 1-0 by Bayern Munich in the final. He scored a total of 30 goals in 37 appearances for PSG across all competitions this season, also providing 19 assists for the side managed by Thomas Tuchel.

Ever since his full international debut for the French national team in 2017, Mbappe has made 35 appearances, scoring 14 goals while also earning 10 assists.