France 3-0 Iraq: Mbappé brace and Dembélé strike send France through despite weather delay

Kylian Mbappé netted a brilliant brace as France cruised to a convincing 3-0 victory over Iraq in their second group stage match, an encounter that was temporarily halted at half-time due to a severe thunderstorm.

Line-ups

France XI: Digne, Maignan, Rabiot, Dembele, Mbappe, Upamecano, Kounde, Saliba, Manu Koné, Olise, Barcola

Subs: Brice Samba, Kante, Lucas, Thuram, Theo, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Konate, Tchouameni, Maxence Lacroix, Cherki, Gusto, Zaire-Emery, Maghnes Akliouche, Doue, Robin Risser

Iraq XI: Amir Al-Ammari, Ahmed Basil Fadhil, Aymen Hussein, Ibrahim Bayesh, Hussein Ali, Ahmed Qasem, Zidane Iqbal, Merchas Doski, Akam Hashem, Zaid Tahseen, Zaid Ismail

Subs: Jalal Hassan, Rebin Sulaka, Frans Putros, Fahad Talib, Ali Yousif, Mohanad Ali, Kevin Yakob, Aimar Sher, Ali Al-Hamadi, Marko Farji, Youssef Amyn, Ahmed Maknzi, Manaf Younis, Mustafa Saadoon, Ali Jasim

Match Highlight:

https://www.fifa.com/en/watch/5baxscpTWAh30KnlPk6NPK

Match Report:

Kylian Mbappe scored twice on his 100th appearance for France to help them to a 3-0 victory over Iraq in a weather-affected World Cup clash at Philadelphia Stadium.

The France captain scored in either half, with half-time lasting two hours and 10 minutes due to thunderstorms in the area, and Ousmane Dembele also scored to send them to the round of 32 after two straight wins in Group I.

France made a quick start, and Mbappe marked his landmark appearance just 14 minutes in. He played a one-two with Michael Olise, who set Mbappe up to bend a lovely effort into the back of the net, despite Ahmed Basil getting fingertips to it.

Iraq introduced Ali Al Hamadi for the injured Aymen Hussein after the first-half hydration break, and he provided a spark, nodding a header just wide moments after coming on.

Mbappe then went for the spectacular from the edge of the centre circle in Iraq's half after a loose pass from Zaid Ismael, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.

Iraq were the first to blink after returning to the pitch for the second half. A short goal-kick from Zaid Tahseen was fired into a helpless Basil, and his loose touch was pounced on by Dembele, who unselfishly put it on a plate for Mbappe to slot into an empty net in the 54th minute.

Olise then struck the crossbar with a lovely lob, before Dembele's first-time curler was tipped away by Basil, and Adrien Rabiot was only able to nod wide on the rebound.

But Dembele ended his long wait for a major tournament goal 66 minutes in. Having hit the side netting moments before, Dembele brilliantly turned to drill a low strike under Basil to get France's third.

Iraq threatened to snatch a late consolation, with Al Hamadi sliding in to poke wide under pressure from Lucas Digne, but France finished on top with Mbappe firing wide as he missed the chance to grab a hat-trick.

Mbappe stays on Messi's tail

Lionel Messi grabbed the headlines earlier on Monday by becoming the all-time World Cup scorer on 18 goals, but Mbappe is staying close behind him, moving level with Miroslav Klose on 16.

He is the 10th player to make 100 appearances for the men's national team and the youngest to do so at 27 years and 184 days.

Mbappe netted another stunner to put France in front, which means that two of his last three World Cup goals have come from outside the penalty area, after only one of his first 13 did so.

The 27-year-old is also the fourth player to score 2+ goals in at least three successive World Cup appearances, along with Sandor Kocsis in 1954 (a run of four), Guillermo Stabile in 1930 and Lionel Messi in 2026.

But while Mbappe is once again in the spotlight, it was also a big day for Dembele. He netted his first goal at a major tournament on what is his 20th such appearance; 13 of those have come at the World Cup.

Iraq now require a win against Senegal if they want to stand a chance of going through as one of the best third-place teams, but they have created a lot of their own problems; only Tunisia (five) have made more errors leading to goals at the 2026 World Cup than them (three).

Match Events:

9' - GOAL! Mbappe puts France in front with a rasping strike from distance

40' - RAIN! The heaven open in Philadelphia with supporters heading for cover

45' - GAME DELAYED! The players don't return out for the second half as lightning strikes mean the game is delated

46' - GAME RESTARTS! Two hours later the players return to the pitch for the second half

56' - GOAL! Mbappe has an easy finish after a big error passing out from the back involving Zaid Tahseen

66' - GOAL! Dembele breaks his tournament duck to make it 3-0