Kylian Mbappé marked his selection for a third World Cup on Thursday by posting a childhood photograph on Instagram. The 27-year-old Real Madrid forward, who leads France as captain, shared the image on the evening of May 14, shortly after coach Didier Deschamps confirmed the 26-man squad for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Mbappé titled the post "Coupe du Monde, Prt 3.
The picture centers on a young Mbappé wearing a white France shirt with blue shorts, framed by two smaller images from his senior career. The left inset shows him kissing the trophy after the July 15, 2018 final, the right captures him celebrating during the December 18, 2022 final.
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| Kylian Mbappe shared his childhood photo ahead of his third World Cup in 2026 |
In French, he wrote of "an immense pride to be able to represent my country once again in the biggest competitions," adding to supporters, "We'll try to make you proud." The post was published to commemorate the official squad list dropping that evening.
Mbappé already has a World Cup winners' medal from Russia in 2018 and was a penalty shootout away from a second title in Qatar in 2022. He enters this summer's tournament at the head of an attack that also features Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and Bayern Munich's Michael Olise, while Real Madrid teammate Eduardo Camavinga was left out of the squad.