Kylian Mbappe celebrated his 100th appearance for France in style, scoring twice as Les Bleus secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Iraq in a World Cup Group I encounter that was delayed for more than two hours due to severe weather in Philadelphia on Monday.
The Real Madrid forward opened the scoring in the 14th minute before adding his second shortly after the restart, while Ousmane Dembele also found the net as the tournament favourites maintained their perfect start to the competition.
Mbappe’s latest brace took his World Cup tally to 16 goals, moving him level with Germany legend Miroslav Klose and just two behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who earlier set a new tournament record of 18 goals after scoring twice against Austria.
The match at Lincoln Financial Field began under dry conditions but was interrupted by a powerful storm at half-time. Heavy rain and lightning forced organisers to suspend proceedings, with fans instructed to leave open seating areas and seek shelter. The second half eventually resumed more than two hours later, marking the first weather-related delay of the tournament.
Strict weather safety protocols in the United States require matches to be halted when severe storms are detected nearby.
Mbappe continued his prolific form after scoring twice in France’s opening 3-1 victory over Senegal. The 27-year-old captain, who recently became France’s all-time leading scorer after surpassing Olivier Giroud’s record of 57 goals, now boasts 60 goals in 100 international appearances.
France dominated throughout and took the lead when Mbappe controlled a pass before unleashing a powerful strike from 20 metres that beat Iraqi goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.
Iraq suffered an early setback when captain and striker Aymen Hussein was forced off injured after 26 minutes.
Following the lengthy delay, France quickly doubled their advantage in the 54th minute after a costly defensive error. Defender Zaid Tahseen’s misplaced pass from a goal-kick allowed Dembele to set up Mbappe for a simple finish.
Michael Olise nearly added a third when he struck the crossbar, but France did not have to wait long to extend their lead. The Bayern Munich winger later provided the assist for Dembele, who fired home in the 66th minute to seal the victory.
The result guarantees France a place in the last 32 after winning their opening two matches, with a clash against Norway and star striker Erling Haaland scheduled for Friday in Boston.
For Iraq, the defeat leaves them on the brink of elimination after also losing 4-1 to Norway in their opening match. The Middle Eastern side have now lost all five of their matches across their two World Cup appearances, separated by four decades.
