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Mbappe and France were barely troubled, but they were not special either.
We are yet to see them face a true test. The game against Norway on Friday could tell us more.
Thank you for reading tonight, but after 14 hours of half-time, that is all for tonight.
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France were 3-0 winners against Iraq on Monday night in a game that took more than three hours to complete.
There were warnings before the match for spectators to stay away from the stadium due to heavy downpours and the threat of storms, which would return to haunt the match at half-time.
Kylian Mbappe grabbed two goals for the French team, the first after 11 minutes, but Didier Deschamps’ men were unable to press home their advantage in the first half.
That period ended 1-0 in favour of France, but a thunderstorm with lightning erupted shortly before the players left the pitch for the interval. Due to local rules, the game was then postponed by at least 30 minutes, but ultimately the match did not restart for a couple of hours as organisers waited for a safe time to restart.
It took fewer than 10 minutes for Mbappe to get his second in the following half, with Ousmane Dembele teeing him up after a defensive mistake from an Iraq goal kick.
On 64 minutes, Dembele finally struck after excellent work from Michael Olise to score his first goal at a major tournament.
For France, the three points means that they are certain to go through to the knockout rounds, but they are not yet sure of topping the group ahead of their final match against Norway on Friday, 26 June.
Iraq remain pointless, but have the chance to score their first win in the tournament in their final group game against Senegal, also on Friday.
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The referee whistles for the end of the match. One-sided, but not a drubbing. Iraq played as well as they might have hoped, and France did not need to stress themselves too much.
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Doue finds Mbappe to open up down the inside left, and he squirts a shot high and wide.
Marcus Thuram comes on to replace Mbappe.
There are two minutes of added time indicated. There was no hydration break.
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The game, now, is trundling to a close. France will still be looking for a win in their final game to be sure of topping the group.
Mbappe casually flips a half-volley at the keeper from an offside position.
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Akliouche and Gusto on. Kounde and Barcola off.
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Cherki picks out Mbappe with a clever pass, but he sends the ball wide. The striker continues to look for a hat-trick.
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France are relaxed now, which has let Iraq back into the match.
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Al Hamadi pulls off Saliba and gets room to stretch to a cross, but he sends the ball a fraction wide.
France have Digne to thank for putting the forward off.
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Alammari and Bayesh come off, Sher and Farji are on for Iraq. Dembele and Olise off for France, with Doue and Cherki on.
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A World Cup goal at last for Dembele!
Olise toes a brilliant ball into the box for the PSG man, and he takes the ball on the half-turn before fizzing past the keeper.
France are going through to the next round.
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Ismael and Tahseen off. Amyn and Sulaka on, as Iraq makes changes.
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Dembele lashes a shot at goal after a pass from Olise, but it’s palmed away.
The ball comes to Rabiot, and he heads just wide of the near post.
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Mbappe dances through a defender, slipping the ball through the player’s legs, before shifting it right to Olise.
He scoops the ball over the keeper, but it crashes against the bar.
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A howler from the keeper!
Tasheen hits a goalkeeper to Basil in goal. It’s far too hard, and the ball escapes the keeper, running to Dembele. Dembele instantly fires it across goal to Mbappe, who fires home. Ruthless, simple, calm.
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Iraq have started the second half well, without creating a great deal.
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No subs so far. It makes sense, as all players have had a two-hour rest.
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We are on the cusp of play restarting. Could it be all cancelled soon again anyway? Don’t think that way!
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*finger to earpiece*
I’m being told that we are 11 minutes from more football. Get excited.
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The delay here is so extensive that Norway vs Senegal is on the horizon.
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It’s not looking good, to paraphrase Castillo.
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We’re expecting a decision from FIFA in about 10 minutes.
On the one hand, you obviously want people to be safe. On the other hand, I don’t want to be a hostage to fortune by expressing any scepticism.
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Alexander Netherton understands an update will come in about five minutes.
Because that is what the BBC said.
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It should be between five and 10 minutes before we get some clarity on a restart.
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Former France defender Gael Clichy has had his say on the BBC coverage.
He said: “I think France have all the players to play the right way and when you can see it done correctly things do work. Kylian Mbappe wants to be direct and wants to be in the box.
“We need to be sound on where to be, and the game is never easy, but you will make your life easier because the player we have is out of this world.”
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Here is how heavy the rain is. With the lightning, we need 30 minutes since the last strike.
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Here’s how it looks in the USA. I can sense that “woke nonsense” is lighting up various websites right now.
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I once saw Olivier Giroud sporting some immaculate bleached double denim at Eurostar in Paris, and he has offered the BBC a similarly precise bit of analysis at half-time.
He said: “Well, France scored on the 14th minute and I would expect them to push again. We have seen some good movements, but I want to see more players in the box, especially when Dembele, Kounde, Barcola and Digne succeed in finding a good position for a good cross. I want more players attacking the box, but it is a good half, but we can do much better.”
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You’ve gone about an hour without some Messi stats, so feast on this while we wait for the restart.
7/3 - Lionel Messi ist der Spieler mit den meisten Elfmeterversuchen (7) sowie vergebenen Elfmetern (3) in der WM-Historie (exklusive Elfmeterschießen). Knapp. pic.twitter.com/BMRwYbxrL8
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) June 22, 2026
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That’s it for the half.
We now live in fear about lightning.
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Credit to Iraq for their defensive performance since the opening goal. When Mbappe scored it looked like this might become ugly, but they have done well to hold their shape and frustrate the French forwards. The heavy rain might work in their favour if it creates a more chaotic contest.
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Rabiot concedes a foul in midfield, but the French are largely in control. It’s not an overwhelming performance from them so far.
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To quote the great cricket writer Mike Selvey, it is rodding it down.
We don’t want lightning, because that is an enforced 30 minute break.
It does feel like it’s in the post, though.
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France keep possession calmly for now.
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The match is yet to get back into gear after that interlude.
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Ali Al-Hamadi comes on, with Hussein coming off. Hussein demonstratively fiddled with his groin, suggesting he was injured.
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We have a drinks break now.
No sign of any storms for now, thankfully.
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This might sound a little dramatic, and it might age absolutely terribly if Iraq suddenly get their act together, but I reckon Mbappe has an outside chance of breaking Messi’s new World Cup record tonight. He would need to score five in this game to overtake Messi in the all-time scoring charts. So that’s four more to go...
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Brilliant from Mbappé!
On his 100th appearance for the national team, the Real Madrid striker shifts the ball onto his left foot, and from 25 yards out, he angles his 15th World Cup goal into the far corner. An outstanding effort with his weaker foot.
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Iraq are getting pushed further and further back and a goal is starting to feel inevitable, even if there has been no great crisis for them yet.
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Olise has a sighter blocked, the ball spooning up to Mbappe. It drops for the striker to volley, but he slashes it well wide in the end.
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Al Ammari is booked as he trips Mbappe about 40 yards from goal. It is a worrying sign of things to come, but at the same time a sensible decision.
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Doski wins a foul from Kone on the left wing, and the Iraqi side have started well enough, if conservatively.
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Iraq hoof it long and concede a goal kick.
From distance, Kone drags a shot wide and Mbappe can’t quite reach it to toe it towards goal.
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The two sides walk out of the tunnel, with reporters noting the humidity in the ground. A reminder that a win for France sees them go through to the next round.
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The French team have their own images of the team getting to the game. The match kicks off in 15 or so minutes.
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There is a decent chance that this game will become the first of the World Cup to be disrupted by storms. The rules in the USA (these are not controlled by Fifa, but by the local authorities) state that a game must stop for at least 30 minutes if lightning is detected within eight miles of the stadium. The 30-minute countdown then resets each time there is a lightning strike within that radius. Only after a full 30 minutes has passed after supporters are allowed back to their seats.
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The French team are out on the pitch, warming up ahead of the game.
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Aymen Hussein is here for Iraq, along with the rest of the squad.
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The players have arrived, with Kylian Mbappe leading the way for his team.
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This will be the last round of Messi praise for at least seven minutes, but here is a rare accomplishment.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 22, 20266 - Lionel Messi is the third player to score in six successive appearances at the FIFA World Cup after Just Fontaine in 1958 and Jairzinho in 1970.
Super. pic.twitter.com/DambEr9Lxi
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The committed stat gurus at ITV have put together a list of some of Messi’s records. Can Harry Kane catch him? No, probably not.
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 22, 2026🥇 Most World Cup goals - 18
🥇 Most Ballon d'Ors - 8
🥇 Most major trophies won - 46
🥇 Most goals for Argentina - 122
🥇 Most LaLiga goals - 474
🥇 Most goals in a calendar year - 911 in 4 goals scored by players aged 35 or older at the #FIFAWorldCup belong to Messi 🐐 pic.twitter.com/6WyJNJASyj
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Lionel Messi’s two-goal haul against Austria has moved him top of the all-time goalscoring records for World Cup final matches.
He has 18, Ronaldo (Brazilian!) has 15, and Mbappe has 14.
Four goals for the Frenchman tonight would take him level.
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This is how seriously the organisers are taking the weather. A lot of people like to brush these things off as over-affected, but given it’s going to get meltingly hot this week for a lot of people, some common sense is necessary sometimes.
— Lincoln Financial Field (@LFFStadium) June 22, 2026France v Iraq - June 22, 2026
Due to inclement weather in the region, gates opening will be delayed. If you are not in the area, please do not travel to Philadelphia Stadium at this time. A new gates opening time will be communicated once the weather has passed. If you are near…
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France Maignan, Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne, Kone, Rabiot, Olise, Dembele, Barcola, Mbappe.
Subs Samba, Risser, Gusto, Tchouameni, Thuram, Kante, Konate, Zaire Emery, Theo Hernandez, Doue, Lucas Hernandez, Mateta, Cherki, Akliouche, Lacroix.
Iraq Basil, Hussein Ali, Tahseen, Hashim, Doski, Al Ammari, Ismail, Bayesh, Iqbal, Qasem, Hussein.
Subs Talib, Hassan, Sulaka, Younis, Amyn, Al Hamadi, Mohanad Ali, Yousif, Hasan, Jasim, Yakob, Sher, Farji, Saadoun, Putros. Referee Drew Fischer (Canada)
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The hosts of today’s games had asked fans to stay away because of a delayed gate opening.
Heavy rains and the threat of thunderstorms led to the decision.
“Due to inclement weather in the region, gates opening will be delayed,” a statement from the stadium’s X account read.
“If you are not in the area, please do not travel to Philadelphia Stadium at this time.
“A new gates opening time will be communicated once the weather has passed. If you are near Philadelphia Stadium, please take shelter.”
However, gates have since been opened. Despite that, the match may be paused should the concerns of lightning reappear.
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Welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of the 2026 World Cup Group I match between France and Iraq.
For France, they are looking for their second consecutive victory after they defeated Senegal 3-1 in their opening match.
The three points a win would bring would guarantee them passage to the knockout rounds, though they would still have a game against Norway to play, so they are not yet assured of topping their ground, which theoretically should give them a favourable position in the bracket.
Iraq, meanwhile, lost their first game, 4-1 against Norway. Few would be surprised if they lost here today, nor would it be a shock if they went on to lose their final game against Senegal.
However, the World Cup has thrown up a fair few surprises already, as well as some one-sided tonkings, so it is far from guaranteed that Didier Deschamps’ will have a walkover tonight.
The game takes place at Philadelphia Stadium, which is to nobody’s surprise, located in Philadelphia, the home of famous sporting underdog Rocky, who went on from boxing success to become a troubled action hero.
Much of the attention will be on France’s star players. Kylian Mbappe is the obvious one, the Real Madrid star who may be looking for one last tournament where he can play unfettered, before he is bullied into tracking back and working the channels for his new club head coach, Jose Mourinho.
He is not the only dangerman for Iraq to fear, with Manchester City playmaker Rayan Cherki also a threat, though towering bearded talisman Olivier Giroud has taken a backseat to offer his bons mots as a television pundit instead.
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