Mbappe shines again as France beat Iraq after dramatic storm delay
France continued their strong World Cup campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Iraq, as Kylian Mbappe celebrated his 100th international appearance by scoring twice in Philadelphia. The match was interrupted by severe weather and delayed for more than two hours at half-time, but France remained in control and secured their second consecutive win of the tournament.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a powerful strike from outside the penalty area that gave Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil no chance. The French captain struck again nine minutes into the second half after a costly defensive mistake by Iraq. Ousmane Dembele then added a third goal in the 66th minute to complete a convincing victory for the tournament favourites.
The game was played in front of a large crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. Heavy rain and a major storm forced supporters to leave open seating areas and seek shelter, while players remained in the dressing rooms during the lengthy delay. With his two goals, Mbappe increased his World Cup tally to 16 goals in just 16 tournament matches. He now sits only two goals behind Lionel Messi, who earlier set a new World Cup scoring record of 18 goals for Argentina.
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The Real Madrid forward has now scored 60 goals for France and continues to strengthen his reputation as one of the most dangerous players in international football. France has already secured qualification for the last 32 after winning both of their Group I matches. Their next challenge will be a clash against Norway, led by star striker Erling Haaland.
For Iraq, the defeat leaves their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread. After also losing 4-1 to Norway in their opening match, they now face the possibility of an early exit from the competition.
The match also brought more bad news for Iraq when captain Aymen Hussein was forced off with an injury in the first half, adding to the team’s difficult evening. France looked dangerous throughout the contest and created several chances. Michael Olise also came close to scoring when his effort struck the crossbar before Dembele found the net.
