France shrugged off a lengthy weather interruption to secure a convincing 3-0 victory over Iraq, taking another major step toward the FIFA World Cup knockout stage.
The Group I clash was halted for nearly two hours at halftime after severe thunderstorms and lightning swept through Philadelphia, marking the tournament’s first weather-related delay. Once play resumed, however, Les Bleus never looked back.
Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring before the break and added his second after halftime, continuing his red-hot World Cup form. Ousmane Dembélé capped off the dominant performance with a third goal as France controlled possession and overwhelmed Iraq from start to finish.
With two wins from two matches, France looks every bit like a genuine title contender, while Iraq’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage now hang by a thread heading into their final group game.
