PHILADELPHIA — Kylian Mbappe delivered two more goals and Ousmane Dembele chipped in a third as France rolled past Iraq 3-0 on Monday, securing their place in the World Cup’s last 32 — all while enduring the tournament’s first major weather stoppage.
The match marked Mbappe’s 100th appearance for the French national team, but the evening’s drama extended well beyond the pitch. Thunderstorms rolling through the Philadelphia area forced a halt to the game just before the second half was set to begin, pushing the restart back by nearly two hours. As a result, Mbappe’s two goals were scored almost three hours apart.
France manager Didier Deschamps praised his team’s ability to refocus after the lengthy interruption. “The first half was good,” Deschamps said. “In the second half, we picked up where we left off, bearing in mind that it wasn’t easy given what happened, and we managed to put the game beyond reach. That’s a very good thing.”
With his 16th career World Cup goal, Mbappe pulled even with Germany’s former all-time record holder Miroslav Klose. Earlier the same day, Lionel Messi raised the bar even higher, netting two goals in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria to reach 18 World Cup goals total. Mbappe’s four goals in this tournament put him just one behind Messi in the race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot.
Dembele, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, had drawn criticism following what many considered a lackluster showing in France’s 3-1 opening win over Senegal. Deschamps stood firmly behind his player. “There’s no issue,” the manager said. “Ousmane is confident in himself. He can sometimes get people talking, but I have complete faith in him. He’s still finding his bearings because his role is different from the one he has at his club.”
France will now face Norway on Saturday with first place in Group I at stake. The Norwegians defeated Senegal 3-2 on Monday, drawing level with France at three points.
Mbappe got France on the board in the 14th minute, taking a pass from Michael Olise, touching the ball to his left, and firing a powerful shot from outside the penalty area past goalkeeper Ahmed Basil. The goal came after what appeared to be a fairly routine buildup on the right side of the field.
Iraq, who spent much of the opening half chasing the ball, had hoped the weather break might help them regroup. Instead, a costly error on a goal kick in the 54th minute made things worse. Basil could not control a short pass from defender Zaid Tahseen, and Dembele was there to set up Mbappe for an easy tap-in. Twelve minutes after that, Dembele scored himself, finishing low past Basil after receiving a sharp pass from Olise.
Iraq substitute Ali Al-Hamadi, who entered the match in the 26th minute after Aymen Hussein came off with an apparent injury, reflected on the difficulty of the night. “You have one moment of excellence from one of the best players in the world,” Al-Hamadi said. “And then we have to go inside and wait for an hour and a half. You know, it’s really difficult to come out and keep the same intensity against these great players. And in the end I think we made too many mistakes again.”
Hussein, who had scored in Iraq’s 4-1 opening loss to Norway, may be unavailable for their final group match against Senegal. Iraq remain in contention for one of eight third-place spots, though they will likely need a win and some favorable results elsewhere to advance.
As for the storm itself, referee Drew Fischer blew the halftime whistle just as the weather was beginning to deteriorate. Conditions worsened quickly after that, and stadium officials directed fans to seek cover in the concourse areas. Players returned for warm-ups roughly one hour and 40 minutes later, but even then, ground crews had to use squeegees to clear standing water from the east side of the field before play could resume.
