Related videos:
France and Iraq face off this Monday at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia during the second round of Group I of the , in a match that has never occurred before between the two teams. The French team enters as the clear favorites, aiming for qualification to the Round of 16.
The Bleus debuted with a 3-1 victory against Senegal, featuring a brace from Kylian Mbappé and a goal from Bradley Barcola. Iraq, on the other hand, lost 1-4 to Norway in their opening match, although Aymen Hussein scored the lone Iraqi goal. After the first matchday, France and Norway share the top spot in the group with three points, while Senegal and Iraq have yet to score.
One of the focal points of the match will be Mbappé. If the Real Madrid forward participates in the game, he will reach 100 appearances with the French national team, a milestone achieved by very few in the country's history. Additionally, the striker has accumulated 14 goals in World Cups, and only three players surpass him in the tournament's all-time scoring record: Miroslav Klose and Lionel Messi, each with 16, and Ronaldo Nazário, with 15.
Another proper name in the French squad is Michael Olise. The winger has been directly involved in four goals in his last two international matches —three goals and one assist— equaling the total offensive output he had accumulated in his previous ten appearances for the national team in just two games.
The historical background of against Western Asian teams is favorable: they defeated Kuwait 4-1 in Spain 1982 and 4-0 against Saudi Arabia in France 1998. However, the Bleus arrive with a statistical warning: after remaining unbeaten in their first 13 encounters with Asian opponents, they lost the two most recent ones 1-0, against China and Japan respectively.
On the Iraqi side, history is heavy. The team returns to the World Cup after 40 years of absence —since Mexico 1986— and has lost all four World Cup matches they have played to date. A defeat this Monday would make it the first Asian nation to lose its first five historical matches in the tournament.
However, Iraq arrives with signs of progress. They have won two of their last four matches against European teams, matching the victories they had achieved in the previous 16 encounters against rivals from the continent. Aymen Hussein, for his part, has the chance to become the third Asian footballer to score in his first two World Cup appearances, a list that only includes Fuad Anwar from Saudi Arabia and Junichi Inamoto from Japan.
In parallel, this Monday the other match of Group I will also take place: Norway vs. Senegal, at 20:00 Cuban time at MetLife Stadium, making the day an early determination of standings in the tournament's most valuable group, with rosters totaling 2,624.95 million euros.
Logic points to France, but the World Cups have repeatedly shown that surprises are always lurking.
Filed under: