Kylian Mbappé Shakes Off Knee Injury and Sparks France’s 2-1 World Cup Tuneup Win Over Brazil

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Kylian Mbappé looked every inch the superstar France needs this summer, shrugging off a December left-knee sprain to score the opening goal and set the tone for a 2-1 victory over Brazil on Thursday night in the final World Cup dress rehearsal for both nations.

Playing on the same Gillette Stadium grass that will host France’s group-stage finale against Norway in three months, Mbappé tormented the Seleção back line from the first whistle. In the 32nd minute he timed his run perfectly onto Ousmane Dembélé’s threaded pass, took one touch and lifted a delicate chip over the onrushing keeper to ignite a crowd of 66,215 that had arrived awash in Brazilian yellow.

The strike gave France a 1-0 halftime edge and quieted any lingering questions about the 25-year-old’s fitness after he missed nearly a month in January and had been limited to substitute cameos for Real Madrid.

Les Bleus doubled the advantage in the 65th minute when Hugo Ekitiké—Liverpool’s leading scorer this season—finished clinically from Michael Olise’s cut-back inside the area. Mbappé departed moments later, his evening’s work complete.

Brazil, down to ten men after Dayot Upamecano’s red card for a last-man foul, pulled one back in the 78th minute when Bremer redirected Luiz Henrique’s cross past Mike Maignan, but the comeback stalled there.

The friendly doubled as a stress-test for local organizers, who resolved a weeks-long standoff over $8 million in security costs only two weeks ago. With the dispute settled, FIFA’s transformation of the Patriots’ artificial surface into a temporary grass pitch proceeded without incident, and the match itself ran smoothly, complete with a mandated mid-half cooling break despite the mild 65-degree evening.

Among the notable onlookers were Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla and forward Jayson Tatum, who joined Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey for the pregame coin toss. The attendance figure ranks second in the stadium’s soccer history, trailing only a 2007 Brazil-Mexico exhibition.

Mbappé, who on Monday declared the injury “truly behind me,” now heads to the World Cup healthy and in form—an ominous signal for the rest of the field.