Mbappé plays down injury fear after France beat Morocco to reach World Cup semis
Jean Philippe Mateta replaced the 27-year-old star who had given France the lead on the hour mark.
It was his eighth goal of the 2026 World Cup to draw him level with the Argentina skipper Lionel Messi.
Six minutes after emulating Messi, Mbappé set up a third goal for a teammate during the competition.
He laid on the pass for Ousmane Dembélé to double France's advantage.
Morocco, who lost to France in the semi-final in Qatar in 2022, failed to muster a response.
"I have a minor ankle injury, but I'm completely fine," said Mbappé.
"Mateta was in a better position to play the remaining minutes of the match and was fitter at that moment. That's all that happened. I will be ready for the semi-final."
France will meet the winner of Friday's game between Belgium and Spain in Los Angeles.
Morocco achievement at 2026 World Cup
Morocco will leave the tournament with the kudos of becoming the first African side to reach the last eight at successive World Cups.
But despite the achievement, Morocco boss Mohamed Ouahbi said there would be some soul-searching
"We cannot just say that we're happy and proud of what we've done," added the 49-year-old who took over from Walid Regragui in March.
"We need to move forward, and in order to do so, we have to be objective and to do some self-criticism. We need to take stock of the situation if we want to progress. It's essential."
African development
Ten squads from Africa, including debutants Cape Verde, entered the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
And though nine reached the last 32, only Morocco advanced to the last eight.
Ouahbi's side was affected by the absence due to injury of star striker Ismael Saibari. They were under constant pressure in defence and appeared toothless up front.
Morocco would have been behind during the first-half had Mbappé not fluffed a penalty after Noussair Mazraoui fouled him in the penalty area.
Following a three-minute delay for a check with the video assistant referees, Mbappé hit a weak shot which the Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou collected easily down to his left.
Minutes later Bounou got down well to save Désiré Doué's shot to his right.
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But his early heroics went unrewarded.
Fifteen minutes after the pause, Mbappé picked up the ball at the edge of the penalty area and curled a short around defender Issa Diop and narrowly inside Bounou's left post.
Dembélé was equally clinical six minutes later.
"We are exactly where we wanted to be," said France manager Didier Deschamps who will step down after the tournament.
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"I imagine there's a lot of excitement and passion in France," he added. "Here, we are in our own bubble, and I am even more so. That's what we're here for, and the players have a duty to do everything they can to go as far as possible. We've cleared a major hurdle."
France beat Croatia 4-2 to claim the crown in 2018 in Russia and lost to Argentina in the final in 2022 in Qatar.
If they were to overcome Spain or Belgium in the semis, they would become only the third national squad after Germany and Brazil to reach three consecutive World Cup finals..
"I want the fans to continue watching the games, giving us the strength," Mbappé added.
"Even though many of them aren't in the stadium, the players feel their energy."