Kylian Mbappe scored yet another brace as he powered France to the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockouts with a scintillating 3-0 win over Iraq in a rain-hit game on Tuesday (IST). Mbappe scored in the 14th and the 54th minute to take his all-time goal tally in the World Cups to 16, now level with Miroslav Klose and only behind the record-breaker Lionel Messi.ย
The 27-year-old forward opened the scoring sheet in the 14th minute with a left-foot strike from the edge of the box past the Iraq goalkeeper Amhed Basil, who was put into the goal in place of captain Jalal Hassan after the latter allowed all four goals in Iraq’s 4-1 defeat to Norway earlier.ย
The Les Bleus were 1-0 up at halftime when rain and thunderstorms prevented the play for a little over two hours in Philadelphia. The fans were instructed to take shelter in the covered areas of the stadium as it continued to fall during the halftime.ย
Due to the delay, there was no hydration break in the second half as the 2018 champions asserted dominance in the game with another Mbappe strike and Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele’s first goal in World Cups.ย
Mbappe creates records
Mbappe has joined an elusive list of players with his second strike in the 54th minute. He pounced on a poor pass from defender Zaid Tahseen to the goalie as the French international tapped it home. This saw Mbappe become just the fourth man to score two-plus goals in three-plus consecutive appearances in the FIFA World Cup.
He joins an elusive list featuring Sรกndor Kocsis, Guillermo Stabile in 1930 and Lionel Messi in 2022-26. Former Hungarian striker Kocsis had achieved the feat in four consecutive appearances, while Messi record third such instance when he netted a brace during Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria on Monday, June 22.ย
Mbappe, who was playing his 100th game for France, has also extended his World Cup record of scoring multiple goals in a game, with this being his sixth such instance. He has also levelled Klose’s 16 goals and now sits two behind Messi, who achieved the all-time record during the Austria game.
France qualify for knockouts with second win
Meanwhile, Les Bleus have booked their spot in the World Cup knockouts and are on top of Group I. They have six points from two matches and face Norway in their final game for the fight for the top spot. The Landslaget have also won both their matches in the tournament so far, having defeated Senegal 3-2.
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