Day of the Stars: Mbappé Follows in Messi's Footsteps in Nearly Four Hour Match
June 23, 2026 · Global
France won 3-0 over Iraq in a match that lasted almost four hours due to bad weather. Kylian Mbappé scored two goals and extended his World Cup statistics.
Under the leadership of Kylian Mbappé, France beat Iraq with a score of 3-0. This match from Group J will go down in history for many reasons. Mbappé improved his already impressive World Cup statistics, but due to the bad weather in Philadelphia, the match lasted almost four hours. The match started at 23.00 local time, and there were concerns that the kick-off would have to be postponed due to extreme weather conditions, but as the start time approached, conditions appeared to improve. Coach Didier Deschamps made three changes compared to the first group match against Senegal, with Lucas Digne, Manu Koné and Bradley Barcola starting, while Theo Hernández, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Désiré Doué dropped to the bench. France immediately took the initiative to attack from the first minute. Mbappé, who was playing his 100th cap for the national team, took the lead role. Previously, he saw Lionel Messi climb the list of all-time World Cup goalscorers. Mbappé is determined to match this achievement. After about 15 minutes, the French captain, after scoring twice against Senegal, managed to score the first goal of the match after receiving a pass from Michael Olise. With a hard kick using his left foot from outside the penalty box, he broke into the Iraqi goal: 0-1, the 15th goal in his World Cup history. With this goal, Mbappé is only three goals behind Messi on the World Cup top scorers list and one goal behind former record holder Miroslav Klose. Shortly after the break, Iraq had to receive a new blow. Their star Aymen Hussein was forced out with a groin injury. His replacement, Ali Al Hamadi, had a chance with a header, but it didn't work out. About 15 minutes before the end of the first half, the weather played a big role again. In Philadelphia, heavy rain began to fall, and lightning was also visible. Spectators were asked to leave the stands, and the match was stopped for at least half an hour. In the end, the time to resume the match continued to be postponed until the second half kick-off could only take place at 02.01, more than three hours after the match started. In the second half, after nine minutes, Mbappé scored his 16th goal in the World Cup. When the Iraqi goalkeeper wanted to take a goal kick, defender Zaid Tahseen misplaced the ball, giving Ousmane Dembélé the chance. Dembélé's pass gave Mbappé the chance to score easily. With this simple goal, Mbappé improved his already impressive statistics. This was his 60th goal in 100 international matches. With this goal, Mbappé also equaled Klose's record on the World Cup goalscoring list and passed Brazil's Ronaldo (15 goals). Only Messi has scored more goals in the World Cup (18 goals). After this goal, Iraq lost direction of the game. Adrien Rabiot and Michael Olise almost scored the third goal, but in the end the third goal was scored by Dembélé. He received feedback from Olise and managed to shoot accurately. Not long after, Deschamps withdrew Olise and Dembélé. The substitutes, Rayan Cherki and Doué, entered the field. However, their entry did not result in any more goals. Iraq almost scored a consolation goal through Ali Al-Hamadi, but his shot missed. The match ended almost four hours after kick-off with a score of 3-0 in favor of France. This victory sets France up to move on to the next round, with the final group match against Norway.