Weather Chaos and Mbappé Brilliance: France Beats Iraq to Reach World Cup Knockout Stage

France secured their place in the World Cup knockout stage with a 3-0 victory over Iraq, a match significantly disrupted by severe weather. Kylian Mbappé was the star, scoring twice in his 100th international appearance and bringing his World Cup goal tally to 16, just shy of Lionel Messi's new record.

The game, played in front of 68,324 spectators, was delayed for nearly two hours due to a severe thunderstorm. Spectators were initially asked to seek shelter as heavy rain lashed the stadium, leading to a prolonged suspension of play. Ground crews worked to clear water from the pitch, and unusually, no hydration break was taken in the second half.

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Seek shelter

Mbappé opened the scoring in the 14th minute and added his second goal in the 54th. Ousmane Dembélé sealed the victory with the third goal in the 66th minute, assisted by Bayern Munich's Michael Olise, who also provided the assist for Mbappé's first goal.

Iraq's coach, Graham Arnold, who had previously faced Mbappé in the 2022 World Cup with Australia, acknowledged the challenge posed by France's formidable offense. Despite Arnold's pre-match joke about needing three goalkeepers, Iraq's primary issue was not the weather but containing Mbappé. Their defense struggled, with goalkeeper Ahmed Basil unable to save Mbappé's initial shot, which proved to be Iraq's only real chance in the first half.

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I asked if we could play with three goalkeepers, but they said no.