PHILADELPHIA : Kylian Mbappe scored twice on his 100th appearance for France as Didier Deschamps’ side booked their place in the World Cup knockout rounds with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Iraq on Monday, despite a near two-hour weather delay at halftime.
Mbappe’s goals came almost three hours apart after thunderstorms forced the first lengthy weather stoppage of the tournament, while Ousmane Dembele added a third goal as France secured a second successive Group I victory.
“The first half was good,” France coach Didier 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.”
The result sent France into the round of 32 with a game to spare and set up a decisive clash with Norway on Saturday for top spot in the group.
Mbappe’s brace took his World Cup tally to 16 goals, drawing him level with former Germany striker Miroslav Klose. Earlier in the day, Lionel Messi moved clear at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring charts with his 18th goal in Argentina’s victory over Austria.
The France captain’s four goals at this tournament leave him one behind Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
France dominated possession from the outset and took the lead in the 14th minute through a moment of individual brilliance from Mbappe.
Receiving a pass from Michael Olise just outside the penalty area, the striker shifted the ball onto his left foot and unleashed a powerful drive beyond Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil.
Iraq struggled to contain France’s fluid attack and were relieved to reach halftime trailing by only one goal.
However, any hopes of regrouping during the prolonged weather delay disappeared shortly after the restart.
A costly mistake from Basil gifted France their second goal in the 54th minute when he failed to control a short goal kick from defender Zaid Tahseen. Dembele seized possession and squared the ball for Mbappe to tap into an empty net.
Dembele then capped an impressive display 12 minutes later, controlling an incisive pass from Olise before finishing calmly past Basil.
The Paris St Germain forward had faced criticism after France’s opening win over Senegal, but Deschamps dismissed concerns about his performance.
“There’s no issue,” the France coach 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.”
For Iraq, the defeat leaves qualification hopes hanging by a thread. They remain in contention for one of the tournament’s best third-placed spots but will likely need to defeat Senegal in their final group match and rely on results elsewhere.
The Iraqis were also dealt an injury concern when striker Aymen Hussein, who scored in their opening defeat to Norway, was forced off after 26 minutes.
“You have one moment of excellence from one of the best players in the world,” substitute Ali Al-Hamadi said of Mbappe’s opener.
“And then we have to go inside and wait for an hour and a half. It’s really difficult to come out and keep the same intensity against these great players.”
The match’s biggest drama outside the goals came from the weather.
With thunderstorms approaching Philadelphia, spectators were instructed to seek shelter shortly after halftime. Players remained off the field for nearly two hours before returning to warm up, while ground staff worked to clear standing water from parts of the pitch before play could resume.
Once football resumed, France quickly extinguished any hopes of an Iraqi comeback and cruised into the knockout phase as one of the tournament favourites.
