Kylian Mbappe fired Paris St Germain into the final of the Coupe de France despite missing a penalty as Rennes proved stubborn opponents.

The 25-year-old struck five minutes before the break and two minutes after seeing his spot-kick saved by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda at the Parc des Princes to take his tally for the season to 32.

His contribution secured a hard-fought 1-0 semi-final victory which set up a showdown with Lyon at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in May and a chance to lift the cup for the first time since 2021.

Mbappe, who was substituted – much to his displeasure – with 25 minutes of Sunday’s 2-0 Ligue 1 win at Marseille remaining, was named in a strong PSG starting line-up which also included skipper Marquinhos on his return from injury.

The striker, who went into the game bidding to match Pablo Sarabia’s club record of scoring in five successive games into the competition, went close to doing just that with 12 minutes gone.

However, Mandanda managed to turn Mbappe’s effort on to his crossbar before the visitors broke swiftly for striker Arnaud Kalimuendo to go for goal at the other end.

Mandanda came to Rennes’ rescue once again eight minutes before the break after the France superstar had won his side a penalty.

Mbappe dusted himself down to take the spot-kick himself but saw the keeper get a strong hand to the ball before Baptiste Santamaria cleared the danger.

However, the respite proved fleeting as PSG’s talisman made amends within two minutes to finally give his side the lead.

Rennes frontman Amine Gouiri went close four minutes after the restart to remind the home side that the game was far from over, although the ever resilient Mandanda denied Mbappe a second three minutes later as they responded.

The game remained in the melting pot until the final whistle but there was nothing the visitors could do to prevent league leaders PSG from extending their run without defeat in all competitions to 26 games.

Jules Kounde and Mike Maignan have withdrawn from France's squad for their trip to Denmark after sustaining injuries, leading Didier Deschamps to call up Rennes' Steve Mandanda.

Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud ensured France picked up the first win of their Nations League campaign against Austria on Thursday, but their injury crisis worsened at the Stade de France.

Deschamps' team were already without Karim Benzema, Kingsley Coman, N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and others for their final Nations League fixtures, and Juventus midfielder Pogba is a doubt for the World Cup after undergoing knee surgery.

They were further depleted when Barcelona new boy Kounde was withdrawn after 23 minutes against Austria, and it has now been revealed Maignan was in pain before his own half-time exit.

A statement issued by the French Football Federation on Friday read: "Mike Maignan had to give up his place to Alphonse Areola at half-time in France-Austria on Thursday evening at the Stade de France, due to pain felt in the left calf.

"The Milan goalkeeper will not be able to play against Denmark on Sunday in Copenhagen. To replace him, Didier Deschamps called on Steve Mandanda. 

"Maignan will leave the group during the day, as will Jules Kounde, who is suffering from a left hamstring injury. Both players will take exams in the morning before being released to their club.

"Kounde will not be replaced in the group that will arrive in Copenhagen on Saturday."

Mandanda has won 34 senior caps since making his France debut in 2008, and was part of the squad which won the 2018 World Cup in Russia. 

France could still be relegated from the top tier of the Nations League and cannot progress to the competition's finals, with Croatia and Denmark locked in a battle for top spot in Group A1.

Marseille have announced goalkeeper Steve Mandanda has left the club via mutual agreement, two years ahead of his contract expiring, having played a record 613 times for the club.

Mandanda, who has 34 caps for France and served as understudy to Hugo Lloris during Les Blues' 2018 World Cup win, extended his contract at the Stade Velodrome in August 2020 to run until the end of the 2023-24 season.

But Marseille announced on Wednesday that he would depart earlier than anticipated, amid links with fellow Ligue 1 sides Rennes and Nice in recent weeks.

"Olympique de Marseille and Steve Mandanda have decided to separate by mutual agreement," read a statement on the club's website.

"OM would like to sincerely thank Steve for everything he has brought to the club since 2007. With 613 games in the Olympian jersey, he has unquestionably become an Olympian legend.

"The club wishes him the best for the future."

Mandanda's mammoth appearances tally is the highest in Marseille's history, and every one of them came as a starter after he joined the side – initially on loan – from Le Havre in 2007.

But the 37-year-old made just nine appearances, keeping five clean sheets, as Marseille finished as Ligue 1 runners-up last season, having lost his number one spot to former Real Betis and Roma goalkeeper Pau Lopez.

While he spent 15 years on Marseille's books, Mandanda did spend one season in the Premier League with Crystal Palace in 2016-17 before returning to Stade Veledrome as a free agent.

N'Golo Kante will miss the entirety of the Nations League Finals as Didier Deschamps is unwilling to take a risk with France's superstar midfielder, who has contracted coronavirus having just returned to fitness.

Kante was named in the French squad for the previous international break but missed out through injury, included only as an unused substitute against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Chelsea man has not played for his country since Euro 2020 and will not now be involved against Belgium in the Nations League semi-final, nor in either the final or third-place play-off after that.

Kante was missing from Chelsea's 1-0 defeat at Juventus on Wednesday due to testing positive for COVID-19.

France coach Deschamps acknowledges Kante would have been cleared in time for the second Nations League Finals match on October 10, but he doubts the midfielder would be in any condition to play to the best of his ability.

"It is 10 days since Monday, so you calculate," Deschamps said. "There was always the assumption that he would be there for the second game, but after 10 days without training, knowing that he was injured recently...

"I would prefer him to be there, but I also prefer him 100 per cent. Let him take advantage of this period to regain his physical freshness."

There is also no Kingsley Coman, who has been restricted to just eight minutes since the previous international break, or Thomas Lemar, as he battles a hamstring issue.

Steve Mandanda has been dropped after losing out to Pau Lopez in the Marseille goal, while Olivier Giroud's recent return for Milan is not enough for a recall – a "sporting choice", Deschamps explained, after other forwards impressed last time.

But the defence now looks a lot healthier, as Bayern Munich men Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez are able to rejoin the squad, as does team-mate Dayot Upamecano, who had to pull out last time. Deschamps listed Hernandez's brother Theo as a midfielder.

Crucially, the calf injury that kept Kylian Mbappe out of France's most recent games has subsided, meaning Deschamps must again attempt to strike a balance in attack, where Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema excelled in the Paris Saint-Germain forward's absence.

Griezmann, who has Deschamps' backing after a tricky start to his second stint at Atletico Madrid, scored twice against Finland – the first assisted by Benzema – as Les Bleus bounced back from draws with Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"What happened is in the past," Deschamps added. "There is a title to play for. We have a semi-final to play against one of the best teams in Europe and the world, if not the best.

"We have given everything to qualify for the Finals. Now, we are there. We keep the same state of mind; we want to go for the title."

France squad:

Benoit Costil (Bordeaux), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), Mike Maignan (Milan); Leo Dubois (Lyon), Lucas Digne (Everton), Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Jules Kounde (Sevilla), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich), Raphael Varane (Manchester United); Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Monaco), Jordan Veretout (Roma); Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen), Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain).