<\/p>\n
France\u2019s Kylian Mbappe (10) runs with the ball through the World Cup Group I football match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Petr David Josek)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
PHILADELPHIA \u2014 Neither rain, nor lightning, nor a swampy field \u2014 and definitely not overmatched Iraq \u2014 could stop Kylian Mbapp\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Yeah, it got a bit messy on the pitch.<\/p>\n
Weather aside, this game \u2014 as so many do for France \u2014 belonged to Mbapp\u00e9 as he tries to maintain pace on the World Cup profession goals list with latest record holder Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 scored twice to maneuver right into a tie for second in World Cup goals with 16, and France played through the tournament\u2019s first rain delay to beat Iraq 3-0 on Monday and advance to the knockout stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m only fascinated about helping my team,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 said. \u201cBy helping my team, I rating goals, and whenever you rating goals, in fact, you catch up with to that type of level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballon d\u2019Or winner Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 also scored for Les Bleus, giving fans who stuck out a rainy night in Philadelphia a reason to chop loose.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 scored within the 14th and 54th minutes to cap a momentous and soggy one centesimal international appearance for among the best players on this planet. Fans of all ages wore his jersey, either walking around Philadelphia earlier within the afternoon or within the rows of seats at Lincoln Financial Field, which had a sellout crowd of 68,234.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s first goal gave France a 1-0 lead at halftime, when heavy rain and an incoming thunderstorm prompted a delay of just over two hours. Grounds crews used squeegees to push water off the swampy Kentucky bluegrass at the house of the NFL\u2019s Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very difficult, because we had to remain focused, we had to remain engaged within the locker room,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n
Scoreboard messages directed the group to take shelter within the stadium\u2019s covered areas, warning that a severe storm was on the way in which. Sheets of rain continued to fall through halftime as fans wrapped themselves in ponchos and huddled within the concourse and under balconies.<\/p>\n
Iraq coach Graham Arnold wrestled with a poncho for a couple of seconds before he pulled it over his head and returned to the covered dugout. France fans who stayed of their seats in the previous couple of covered rows of the highest of the stadium waved the country\u2019s flag, and plenty of splashed across the concourse to pass time.<\/p>\n
Others fled for the exits \u2014 at the identical stadium where last season\u2019s Eagles opener was delayed 65 minutes within the third quarter due to lightning \u2014 because the delay dragged on, giving overseas spectators a triple dose of American sports nuisances: rain delays, overpriced concessions and TV timeouts in the shape of hydration breaks. There was no second-half hydration break on this game after the long, wet pause within the motion.<\/p>\n
Playing in his third World Cup, the 27-year-old Mbapp\u00e9 matched Miroslav Klose of Germany on the goals list and moved one ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo.<\/p>\n
Messi scored twice for Argentina earlier Monday to set the tournament record at 18. He had equaled Klose along with his first World Cup hat trick in Argentina\u2019s 3-0 win over Algeria last Tuesday night in Kansas City, Missouri.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 scored his third goal of the tournament with a left-footed strike \u2014 his supposed weaker foot \u2014 from the sting of the box that got past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil, who got his first start within the tournament after captain Jalal Hassan allowed all 4 goals in Iraq\u2019s 4-1 loss to Norway.<\/p>\n
For his second goal, Mbapp\u00e9 took advantage of a poor pass to the goalkeeper by Iraq defender Zaid Tahseen. Dembele controlled the loose ball and passed to Mbapp\u00e9, who tapped it in along with his right foot.<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 had a likelihood on the hat trick on a late breakaway, but missed before he was subbed out on the 90-minute mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can take Messi, he can take Ronaldo,\u201d France coach Didier Deschamps said. \u201cHe does have the capability to up his ante.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 helped France win the World Cup in 2018 and reach the ultimate in 2022, when he was awarded the Silver Ball because the second-best player. Joined up front by D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9 and Demb\u00e9l\u00e9, France entered this yr\u2019s tournament as a co-favorite with Spain.<\/p>\n
France could return to Philadelphia to play Germany on July 4.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to try to investigate it in the approaching days, see what we will improve, because I believe there are two or three things we could have avoided,\u201d Mbapp\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n
Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was subbed out with an apparent injury within the twenty sixth minute of the primary half and replaced by Ali Al-Hamadi. Hussein scored his thirty fourth international goal in Iraq\u2019s World Cup opener.<\/p>\n