Rain, Mbappe pour all over Iraq

Kylian Mbappe responded to Lionel Messi with another brace enroute to a decisive 3-0 French victory over Iraq. A two-hour rain delay following the end of the first half failed to halt France’s momentum after an early Mbappe weak-footed effort put them ahead—no thanks to another costly mistake from Iraq gifting their opponents a goal. Ousmane Dembele finally netted his first World Cup goal, the Frenchman’s last two campaigns at the tournament being marred by injuries and benchies. It was yet another impressive yet casual display from France’s attack, Michael Olise delighting with another lovely assist. Iraq struggled to create chances throughout, recording zero shots on goal—striker Aymen Hussein’s early exit due to injury making it even harder.

The two sides entered a muggy, humid environment on the pitch in Philadelphia—a thunderstorm warning in effect until the late evening. Mbappe, making his 100th cap for France, would see three changes in the starting XI surrounding him. Lucas Digne, making his first World Cup appearance for Les Bleus since 2014, replaced Theo Hernandez at left back. Bradley Barcola, Matchday 1 goalscorer off the bench, came in for Desire Doue on the left side of the attacking four, while Manu Kone slotted in for Aurelein Tchouameni in the middle of the park. Iran fielded a different keeper in net—Ahmed Basil replacing Jalal Hassan—after the latter let in four goals against Norway in their tournament opener. Lest we not forget his role in Erling Haaland’s second goal as well.

France looked to wipe the memories of anyone who watched their first half against Senegal last time round, starting with a sense of urgency in their attack. Mbappe nearly broke the floodgates open within 60 seconds, just unable to get on the end of a diagonal ball from Kone bounding past the far post. Ousmane Dembele, a bit forgettable in his Matchday 1 performance, got more involved early on today. The French front four of Mbappe, Dembele, Barcola and Michael Olise toyed with the Iraqi backline, the majority of their possession across the first half held in the attacking third. Iraq, forced to lie deep in their own box, would hope the low block strategy could withstand the efforts. “Dictator” Mbappe would have other ideas.

Attempting to play Olise in on the right wing, Mbappe’s pass was briefly halted by a sliding Iraqi defender. Olise recovered well, pouncing to poke the ball over to Mbappe, the striker sizing up the goal as he dribbled just outside the 18-yard box. Shifting the Trionda onto his weaker foot, he’d laser an effortless strike past towards the far corner of Basil’s net—the “dictator” had found an early opener.

The French wouldn’t have to wait until the second 45 in this fixture. A lovely goal from Mbappe—I admire his continued confidence to unleash strikes from distance whenever he sees fit.

Iraq were dealt another first-half blow: Captain Aymen Hussein would be forced to exit the match following the ensuing hydration break due to injury. Substitute Ali Al-Hamadi would replace him up top.

While the French continued to laze around the attacking third following the Iraqi swap, the weather suddenly began to take hold of the match. In the 36th minute, a visible downpour became apparent on the broadcast—the many fans sitting in the lower bowl scrambling to put on their ponchos (or retreat to the covered concourse). French manager Didier Deschampes, admirably, remained in his spot on the touchline. His suit would be drenched, his undying passion for the game perhaps providing a mental shield. On the other hand, the Iraq coach opted to take cover on the bench.

France would nearly add a second goal to their tally just four minutes before halftime, Mbappe beautifully pirouetting his body to collect the end of a give-and-go move with Barcola. Just before he was able to get a shot away, a combination of the slick pitch and a last second Iraqi challenge ruined the chance. The sides would escape into the locker rooms soon after, finally able to dry off. Iraq had failed to record an effort goalwards, while France looked in total control.

A severe thunderstorm delayed the start of the second by nearly two hours—the first instance of weather impacting this World Cup. Threatening winds and a lack of cover in the Philadelphia stadium compounded the issue. Finally, the match resumed, 15 degrees cooler than kickoff and the pitch surely more waterlogged.

The Iraqis came out looking refreshed, despite water splashing up with every pass early into the resumption of play. In the opening few minutes, they finally looked more competent in the middle of the pitch, perhaps they could push possession higher up the field. That would end minutes later, following their second match in a row with a howler in the back of the park. Center back Zaid Tahseen played a goal kick over towards new keeper Basil, the latter misjudging the pass—which seemed rather nonsensical itself. Dembele, smelling blood, sprung to take possession as the ball past a flailing Basil. Rather unselfishly, with just the keeper to beat, he’d slide it over to a waiting Mbappe. The striker wasted no time finishing off his 16th goal in tournament history (just two behind the recent record-breaker Messi!)

Dembele’s karma-inducing assist would soon pay off as the match crossed the hour mark. Olise, darting across the attacking third with the ball, flocked by three defenders, found his teammate with yards of space. A nifty little dink with the outside of his left boot played Dembele in on goal, needing just one touch before firing a right-footed effort towards the far post and in. The Ballon d’Or winner, in his 13th World Cup appearance for France, had finally put his name on the scoresheet.

The remainder of the match played out rather uneventfully, Olise, Mbappe and Dembele taking turns practicing flashy sequences—threatening the stretched-thin Iraqi backline. Mbappe would come close to capping off his hat-trick multiple times, the best of chances coming in the 90th minute. Iraq played an errant pass in the center circle, France acting quickly to break. Mbappe, played in on goal on the near side of the pitch, wound up a left-footed effort as he stared down Basil. The soaked grass beneath would be to blame following an unfortunate slip that saw his effort skies above the crossbar. Despite this, he would exit the match to raucous applause from the Philadelphia crowd moments later—brought off for teammate Marcus Thuram in stoppage time. The referee soon signalled for full-time. Even a thunderstorm couldn’t slow down Mbappe’s goalscoring pace: He now sat directly behind Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, four goals to five.

France continued to impress today with another nonchalant yet dominant outing, keeper Mike Maignan’s goal not threatened a single time. Mbappe, Dembele, and Olise are the best attacking trio I’ve witnessed in this tournament. Barcola played alright, but I’m not so sure he’s earned a starting spot over Doue quite yet. Manu Kone looked wonderful in the middle of the park, alongside the consistent Rabiot. Dayot Upamecano continued to look like the one of the best center backs in the World Cup, his long ball ability from the back not be understated. France will face off against Norway in their final group fixture, a battle of two of the world’s best strikers in Mbappe and Erling Haaland. That’ll be incredible to watch, the French defense finally getting a worthy foe.

Iraq is technically still alive following today’s resounding defeat, but they look extremely dead in the water—did you forget about Hussein’s injury yet? The replacement keeper Basil giving up a crucial 2nd goal for France completely ended any morsels of a comeback, no thanks to Tahseen’s horrid goalkick. The side will hope for a miracle in Matchday 3 against Senegal.

Kylian Mbappe, despite Dembele’s wonderful night, takes it by a hair. His opening goal and infectious shot-creating ability (yes, I’m stealing that term from basketball, it fits) threatened to build upon the French lead throughout.

The two-hour rain delay that had me questioning my purpose in life takes the cake.

As a reminder, the match card reflects my thoughts on the entire fixture as a whole—and is comprised of the following:

Man of the Match: The man of the match will be awarded card’s player face/headshot

Aura (AURA): How much “aura” or unique atmosphere/feel that the match had

Goals (GOL): A rating of the game’s quality of goals

Entertainment (ENMT): Was the game engaging, lively, memorable?

Memes (LOL): Did the game have any funny/memeable moments?

Rewatchability (RWD): Would I watch this match again—is it worth doing so?

Emotional Investment (EMO): A rating based on how attached I was, or became, to the match

As much as I love Mbappe, the rain delay killed this fixture for me. The duel between him and Messi for Golden Boot will be incredible as we get into the knockouts. -E$