France closed out their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I fixture against Iraq in Philadelphia with a 3-0 win, but not before the contest was halted for more than half an hour at halftime after a severe weather warning sent spectators scrambling for cover. Kylian Mbappe scored both of France's first two goals either side of that delay, before Ousmane Dembele added a third in the second half to seal the result and complete a comfortable night for the French side.
Mbappe's early goal sets the tone
Kickoff came at 2100 GMT in dry conditions, and France moved ahead inside the first quarter of an hour when Mbappe scored in the 14th minute. Iraq responded with two decent openings soon after: in the 26th minute, Ali Al Hamadi's left footed effort from outside the box, set up by Ahmed Qasem, was blocked, and less than a minute later Al Hamadi headed just wide from the right side of the six yard box off a Merchas Doski cross. The 27th minute brought a contentious refereeing moment, with a video assistant referee review overturning an earlier decision. Iraq then won a corner through Lucas Digne in the 29th minute. France threatened again in the 31st minute when Mbappe's right footed effort from outside the box, set up by Dembele, was blocked, before he blazed another attempt from more than 35 yards over the bar in the 39th minute. The rest of the half turned into a stop start affair with free kicks flowing both ways: Manu Kone won one for France after a Zidane Iqbal foul, Ahmed Qasem won one for Iraq after a Lucas Digne foul, and Ali Al Hamadi twice won free kicks in the attacking half following fouls by Adrien Rabiot and then Manu Kone. The fourth official added three minutes of stoppage time, and the first half ended with France ahead 1-0.
Storm warning stops play at the break
The match had kicked off in dry weather, but rain arrived as the first half wore on, and by the time the halftime whistle sounded, a storm was closing in on Philadelphia. A FIFA official said the fixture, which had started at 2100 GMT, would be suspended for at least half an hour, a period that included the scheduled 15 minute halftime break, while fans sitting in open, uncovered seating areas were told to move into the stadium's covered sections for their own safety until conditions improved. At the moment play stopped, France led 1-0 thanks to Mbappe's 14th minute strike.
Mbappe doubles the lead after the restart
Once the second half finally got underway, still with the scoreline at 1-0, France wasted little time extending their advantage. Bradley Barcola headed narrowly wide from the middle of the box in the 52nd minute after a Dembele cross, and Mbappe made it 2-0 a minute later, sliding a right footed finish from the centre of the box into the bottom right corner after Dembele squared the ball across to him. Iraq's Ibrahim Bayesh then fouled to concede a free kick, which Jules Kounde won for France in their own half.
Olise strikes the bar before Dembele makes it three
France kept up the pressure. In the 57th minute, Michael Olise, picked out by Mbappe, curled a left footed effort from the right of the box against the crossbar. A minute later, Dembele forced Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil into a save, the keeper tipping a right footed shot over the bar after an Olise assist, while Rabiot headed just wide from close range moments after that. Iraq made a double change just after the hour mark, sending on Rebin Sulaka for Zaid Tahseen and Youssef Amyn for Zaid Ismael. Free kicks kept coming at both ends, conceded in turn by Mbappe, Merchas Doski and Dayot Upamecano, before Dembele had a shot from outside the box blocked with an assist from Kounde in the 64th minute. Iraq's Amir Al Ammari then conceded a corner, from which William Saliba headed just wide off a Lucas Digne delivery, and another corner soon followed, this one down to Ibrahim Bayesh, before Dembele's follow up effort from the right of the box drifted narrowly wide. France finally broke through again in the 65th minute: Dembele finished from the centre of the box with his right foot, steering the ball into the bottom left corner after Olise slipped a defence splitting through ball, making it 3-0.
Substitutions and late chances at both ends
Both sides turned to their bench in the aftermath of the third goal. France sent on Desire Doue for Dembele and Rayan Cherki for Olise, while Iraq brought on Aimar Sher for Amir Al Ammari and Marko Farji for Ibrahim Bayesh. Iraq kept probing for a way back into the game: in the 73rd minute, Rebin Sulaka blazed well over the bar from the left of the box off a Zidane Iqbal cross following a corner, and in the 75th minute Al Hamadi's close range effort, set up by Farji, drifted just wide. France created chances of their own too, with Mbappe shooting wide from the left of the box in the 79th minute after a Cherki through ball, and winning a corner soon after through Akam Hashim before Mbappe was flagged offside in the 81st minute. France used their last two changes late on, bringing on Maghnes Akliouche for Barcola and Malo Gusto for Kounde around the 82nd minute. Gusto then conceded a free kick that gave Iraq's Marko Farji a set piece on the left wing in the 84th minute. Mbappe went close twice in the closing stages: Ahmed Basil saved his effort from the centre of the box after an Upamecano through ball in the 87th minute, and two minutes later Mbappe's left footed attempt from the left of the box flew high and wide. Marcus Thuram replaced Mbappe in the 90th minute as France saw out the closing stages without any further alarm.
France close it out 3-0
The fourth official signalled two minutes of stoppage time, and the second half ended with the scoreline unchanged. France's 3-0 win in this Group I contest was built on Mbappe's brace either side of the weather break and Dembele's second half strike, in a match that will be remembered as much for the storm delay that split it in two as for the result itself, and for the resilience both sides showed once play finally resumed.
