PHILADELPHIA, June 23 — Kylian Mbappé scored twice again as France secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday, sealing their place in the last 32 of the World Cup in a match heavily disrupted by a long weather delay.
PHILADELPHIA, June 23 — Kylian Mbappé scored twice again as France secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday, sealing their place in the last 32 of the World Cup in a match heavily disrupted by a long weather delay.
Mbappé’s goals were separated by almost three hours after thunderstorms in the area forced the second-half kickoff to be delayed by nearly two hours.
The brace took his all-time World Cup tally to 16 goals, drawing him level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose on the tournament’s scoring chart.
Earlier in the day, Lionel Messi had set a new record of 18 World Cup goals after scoring twice in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria, keeping him ahead in the 2026 Golden Boot race. Mbappé’s four goals in the tournament now place him just one behind Messi in the current scoring standings.
Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, also got on the scoresheet after the break for the two-time champions.
Iraq remain in contention for one of the eight third-place qualification spots but will likely need a win in their final group match against Senegal, along with favourable results elsewhere. They may also be without Aymen Hussein, who scored in their 4-1 defeat to Norway but was substituted early on Monday due to an apparent injury.
France controlled the early stages, with Mbappé opening the scoring in the 14th minute. After a flowing move down the right, he latched onto Michael Olise’s pass, cut inside, and unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box that beat goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.
The long weather interruption appeared to offer Iraq little relief, as they conceded again shortly after the restart when a defensive error from a goal kick gifted possession to France.
Dembélé set up Mbappé for his second goal before scoring himself 12 minutes later, finishing low after being played through by Olise.
With the result effectively decided, the storm-related delay provided most of the match’s drama.
Referee Drew Fischer had already ended the first half as thunderstorms approached, prompting spectators to take shelter inside stadium concourses. Players eventually returned for warm-ups around 100 minutes later, but the restart was further delayed while staff cleared standing water from the pitch. — Reuters
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