A brace from Mbappé: France into the last 32

In 2026 FIFA World Cup Group I, France beat Iraq 3-0 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to reach the last 32. After beating Senegal 3-1 in their opener, Les Bleus all but secured their place in the knockouts with this win and took a strong step in the race for top spot.

France started fast and opened the scoring in the 14th minute. From Michael Olise's assist, Kylian Mbappé found the net to put his team ahead. France went into the break 1-0 up and stretched the lead in the second half: in the 54th, this time from an Ousmane Dembélé pass, Mbappé took centre stage again to score his second. In the 66th, the roles reversed; from Olise's assist, Dembélé made it 3-0.

After the three goals, France took full control and continued with manager Didier Deschamps' rotations. Deschamps brought on the likes of Rayan Cherki, Désiré Doué, Magnus Akliouche, Maghnes Gusto and Marcus Thuram, both resting his squad and handing minutes to younger players. Star man Mbappé, with his two goals, added to his World Cup tally and moved close to the all-time peak in that category (Lionel Messi and Miroslav Klose on 16 goals).

The stats laid bare France's superiority. Les Bleus reached 55% possession and 2.49 expected goals (xG), with Iraq on 0.60. France had 19 shots and created six big chances; Iraq finished the game with just four shots. Only Al Ammari (6') was booked. The match was officiated by Canadian referee David Fischer, with over 68,000 fans in the stands.

With this result, France took two wins from two games and moved confidently towards topping the group. The attacking partnership of Mbappé and Olise in particular painted a promising picture for Les Bleus for the later stages of the tournament. Iraq, back at the World Cup after 40 years, lost both games and came to the brink of elimination; but they earned praise for their fight against strong opponents like Norway and Senegal.

Image: Sporting News