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France defeated Iraq 3-0 this Monday at the , on the second match day of Group I in the 2026 World Cup, and qualified for the round of 16 with a perfect score.
The match had an undisputed star: Kylian Mbappé, who scored a brace and reached 16 goals in World Cup history, matching the all-time record of Miroslav Klose.
The Gallic captain opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a left-footed shot from the edge of the area that left Iraqi goalkeeper Ahmed Basil with no chance.
It was the only goal of the first half, although the match was far from an easy process: at the end of the first half, Canadian referee Drew Fischer called for a suspension of more than two hours due to a severe storm alert with lightning detected within a 13 km radius of the stadium, as reported by AFP.
The teams resumed play at 8:00 PM local time, with no rain, and France wasted no time in sealing the deal.
At the 54th minute, Iraq made a mistake in defense, leaving the ball perfectly positioned for Ousmane Dembélé, who set up Mbappé alone in the small box for the 2-0.
It was the 16th goal of the Real Madrid forward in World Cups.
After the second goal, Iraq was unable to recover.
In the 66th minute, Dembélé capitalized on another defensive error from Iraq and sealed the final score at 3-0.
The only reaction from the Asian team came in the 75th minute, when Ali Al-Hamadi flicked the ball past the defenders, but his shot went wide of Mike Maignan's goal.
The statistics reflected the total dominance of the French: 55% possession, 19 shots—five on target—compared to just four attempts from Iraq, none of which were on target.
With this result, with six points from two matches, six goals scored and one conceded. Iraq, which had already lost 1-4 to Norway in the opening round, is eliminated with zero points and a goal difference of -6.
The team led by Didier Deschamps had already defeated Senegal 3-1 in their World Cup debut on June 16, also with a double from Mbappé.
France's next challenge will be on Friday, June 26, against Norway at Gillette Stadium in Boston, where they will aim to finish the group stage with nine points out of nine possible.
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