GENEVA — Kylian Mbappé was back in World Cup action on Friday, scored again and this time France won.

France beat Ukraine 2-0 to open their qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup. It was Les Bleus‘ and Mbappé’s first game in the competition since his hat trick in that epic loss to Lionel Messi and Argentina in the 2022 final when they were defending champions.

Mbappé used pace and skill to elude Ukraine defender Illia Zabarnyi in the 82nd minute to extend a lead earned in the 10th by Michael Olise.

Mbappé has never played at a World Cup that Italy qualified for, and the four-time champion got an essential 5-0 home win over Estonia seeking to end its absence from the biggest stage since 2014.

Italy avoided losing more ground to group leader Norway, which did not play on Friday, though

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