Philadelphia: France beat Iraq 3-0 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I match on Monday, as Kylian Mbappe scored twice on his 100th international appearance.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 14th minute at Lincoln Financial Field before thunderstorms delayed the second-half kickoff by nearly two hours. He added France’s second after the restart.
Ousmane Dembele scored France’s third 12 minutes later after controlling a Michael Olise pass and finishing low past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil. France advanced to the last 32 with the win.
France manager Didier Deschamps said his team “picked up where we left off” after the delay and managed to put the game beyond reach. He also backed Dembele after criticism of his opening-match performance against Senegal.
Mbappe moved to 16 career World Cup goals, level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose. Earlier Monday, Lionel Messi set a new record of 18 goals with a brace in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria.
France will face Norway on Saturday with Group I top spot on the line. Norway beat Senegal 3-2 on Monday to move level with France on six points, according to The Guardian.
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Iraq remain in contention for one of the third-place qualifying spots but will likely need to beat Senegal in their group finale. Iraq could be without Aymen Hussein, who left Monday’s match in the 26th minute with an apparent injury.
