2026 World Cup: Frances storms to 3-0 win over Iraq behind Kylian Mbappé brace

Not even the rain could stop Kylian Mbappé. For the second World Cup game in a row, the French captain notched a brace to help lead Les Bleus to victory, this time with a 3-0 win over Iraq.

>Mbappé also shared the glory with Ousmane Dembélé, with the midfielder giving Mbappé an unselfish assist on his second goal before finally scoring his first goal of the 2026 tournament.

>France’s pressure in the attacking third was clear early on, and in the 14th minute, Mbappé broke through. The forward powered a stellar left-footed strike past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil to give France a 1-0 lead.

>The rain began partway through the half, though, picking up in earnest as the half went on. At halftime, the game entered a lengthy weather delay due to a passing thunderstorm in the area of Philadelphia Stadium, with fans being instructed to shelter in place.

>After the two-hour delay, the two teams finally returned to the pitch shortly before 8 p.m. ET, continuing the match on a field visibly soaked with rain. But France picked up right where it left off: In the 54th minute, Dembélé broke up a poor pass back to Basil and then selflessly passed to Mbappé, who sent the ball into the back of the net.

>Dembélé, another of France’s main stars heading into the tournament, hadn’t quite lived up to expectations the way that Mbappé had. But in the 66th minute, Dembélé finally scored, off a great cutting pass from Michael Olise.

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>This story will be updated.