Mbappe leads France to win over Iraq in lightning-delayed World Cup game

Kylian Mbappe scores France’s first two goals, with Ousmane Dembele adding the other in a 3-0 win against Iraq.Kylian Mbappe scored his second brace ‌of the tournament, and France eased to a 3-0 victory over Iraq ⁠in the first match ⁠of this World Cup beset by a lengthy weather stoppage.Mbappe’s goals came nearly three hours apart after thunderstorms in the region on Monday delayed the second-half kickoff by a shade ⁠under two hours.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Football, war and solidarity: Why Gaza fans turned to Spain this World Cuplist 2 of 4‘I’m here’: Yamal scores, dazzles and embraces the spotlight in World Cup startlist 3 of 4World Cup knockouts: Who has made it to the round of 32 stage?list 4 of 4Salah scores against NZ as Egypt records historic win at World Cupend of listThey take him to 16 all-time World Cup tallies, pulling him level with former record-holder Miroslav Klose. Earlier on Monday, Lionel Messi set a new benchmark of 18 career World Cup ⁠goals with his brace in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria.Mbappe’s four goals also place him one behind Messi in the 2026 Golden Boot race.Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele also scored after half-time for two-time champions France (2-0-0, 6 points), who are all but assured of progressing.Their last-32 place will become official if Norway ‌win or draw against Senegal in the other Group I fixture. That match, staged about two hours away by car in northern New Jersey, kicked off near-simultaneously with the start of the long-awaited second half at Philadelphia Stadium.Iraq (0-2-0, 0 points) remain alive for one of the eight knockout spots allotted for third-place teams.They will probably need a win in their group finale against Senegal and help elsewhere. And they could be without Aymen Hussein, who scored their only goal this tournament in their ⁠opener, but exited on Monday in the 26th minute with an apparent injury.France ⁠dominated the early stages, and Mbappe capitalised in the 14th minute.