Mbappé bags a brace as France beat Iraq 3-0 in Philadelphia
Kylian Mbappé scored twice and Ousmane Dembélé wrapped up the rout that sends France top of Group I with a perfect record.
France beat Iraq 3-0 with authority at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, the raucous home of the NFL's Eagles, affectionately known as "The Linc", holding 68,324 spectators and converted for 2026 World Cup football. In a second-round Group I clash, Les Bleus claimed their second win of the tournament and climbed to the top of the group.
Iraq set out to unsettle the European giant, but the match's first booking, for Amir Al-Ammari in the 6th minute, foreshadowed a contest of Asian endeavour against French superiority. The scoreboard soon moved: in the 14th minute, Kylian Mbappé finished off a Michael Olise pass to put France ahead and take control.
The clincher came after the break. In the 54th, Mbappé completed his brace, this time set up by Ousmane Dembélé, and in the 66th Dembélé himself rounded off the rout by converting another Olise assist, the winger leaving the field with two goal passes. Three goals that reflected the attacking power of Didier Deschamps's side.
Deschamps set up France in a 4-2-3-1 with Olise, Dembélé and Mbappé as a creative and finishing trident, while Graham Arnold responded with an Iraqi 4-1-4-1 geared to closing space that could not stem the French threat. The match, refereed by Canada's Drew Fischer, offered little controversy beyond French dominance.
With this win, France move on to six points out of six and lead Group I, putting one foot in the last 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Iraq, by contrast, are left without a point and all but eliminated. The group will close on 26 June with a heavyweight clash, Norway-France for top spot, and a Senegal-Iraq for pride.