France secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Iraq at the FIFA World Cup, with Kylian Mbappe stealing the spotlight once again by scoring twice in a match disrupted by severe weather.
The encounter, played in Philadelphia, was delayed for more than two hours after a powerful storm forced players and supporters to seek shelter before the second half could resume.
Mbappe opened the scoring early in the game before adding his second goal shortly after the restart, while Ousmane Dembele also got on the scoresheet to seal France’s second consecutive win of the tournament.
The Real Madrid star’s latest brace took his World Cup tally to 16 goals, placing him level with German legend Miroslav Klose on the all-time scoring chart.
“Mbappe is now level on the all-time list of World Cup goals with Germany’s Miroslav Klose.”
The French captain has now scored four goals in two matches at the tournament and continues to close in on Lionel Messi’s newly established World Cup record of 18 goals.
The match itself took an unusual turn when heavy rainfall and thunderstorms forced officials to halt proceedings at halftime, leaving thousands of fans stranded inside the stadium concourses.
Despite the lengthy interruption, France returned with renewed intensity and quickly took control of the game after play resumed.
Dembele added the third goal to complete a dominant display by the tournament favourites, who have now booked their place in the knockout stage.
For Iraq, the defeat leaves their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread after suffering back-to-back losses in the competition.
France will now turn their attention to a highly anticipated clash against Norway, while Mbappe continues his pursuit of more World Cup history.
Source: AFP
