Hugo Ekitike continued his impressive start to the season by claiming an assist on his first start for France in a 3-0 World Cup qualifier success over Azerbaijan on Friday.
After making two substitute appearances for Les Bleus in the September international break, tallying less than 10 minutes, the Liverpool forward was handed a start alongside Kylian Mbappe at the Parc des Princes.
And it didn’t take the 23-year-old long to make his mark as he assisted the Real Madrid man for the first goal of the game in first-half stoppage time.
Ekitike owed a lot of the move to Mbappe after he stormed through half of the Azerbaijan team, played a one-two with Liverpool’s No. 22 and fired past Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev from inside the area.
— @sbzcomps (@jdhfurb38562) October 10, 2025
It was a goal that made life easier for Didier Deschamps’ side in the second half, as goals from AC Milan midfielder Adrien Rabiot and Lens forward Florian Thauvin secured a routine 3-0 win and made it three wins from as many World Cup qualifiers for the two-time world champions.
For Ekitike, his first start for France lasted 79 minutes before he was replaced by Crystal Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta.
However he could find himself leading the line for France again in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Iceland after Mbappe sustained an injury and had to be substituted in the closing stages.
Konate unused after injury
Meanwhile, Ibrahima Konate looks to have at least avoided a serious injury in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Chelsea.
The Frenchman was withdrawn 56 minutes into the match at Stamford Bridge, with Arne Slot later revealing the defender had suffered a blow to his quad.
But after taking part in some solo sessions at France’s Clairefontaine base earlier this week, he was deemed fit enough to be named on the bench by Deschamps on Friday.
He went unused in the victory over Azerbaijan, though has since departed the squad to avoid any further issue.
After winning their first three World Cup qualifiers, France are in pole position to secure a place at next summer’s finals in the United States.
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