Kylian Mbappe expressed his love for France ahead of a World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.

The forward hit his ninth LaLiga strike in eight fixtures when Real Madrid beat Villarreal 3-1 last weekend, wrapping up the three points with the third goal for Los Blancos. However, he suffered a knock to his ankle that forced him to come off the field in the 83^rd minute in some discomfort.

Yet, the captain of Les Bleus has declared himself available for national team duty. He is closing in on records for France, having overtaken Thierry Henry as the second highest top scorer of all time for the team with goals against Ukraine and Iceland last month to take his total tally up to 52 strikes.

Above all, there is an immense pride that the forward feels to wear the blue shirt and pull on an iconic number, especially as the captain of the camp. He hopes to push the team closer to qualification for the World Cupnext year, a stage which he has shone on brighter than most in the last two editions.

“For players, it is the most important thing; it is priceless to play for the national team. Everything went well in Madrid, it was clear communication. I have a thing in my ankle, but I wanted to play.”

“I want to play. The coach wants me to play. I don’t think there’s a major problem. I feel fine. We have talked. There’s no particular concern. I want to play and qualify for the World Cup. That’s all.”

“When you look at the players who have worn the number [10], I don’t forget. They are players who left their mark on different generations. Michel Platini left his mark, Zinedine Zidane too. I try to leave my mark. It’s an important number in the national team, even if it doesn’t correspond to that role of attacking midfielder. It belongs to players who did more good than harm for the national team.”