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A French awakening shocks the Lions of Mesopotamia
The French national team officially qualified for the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup after defeating their Iraqi counterpart 3-0 in their second round Group Nine match.
France took their point at the top of the six-point group with a full score after a 3-1 win against Senegal in the opening round, securing their qualification for the knockout stages before entering the finals.
The match witnessed an exceptional event at the end of the first half after a severe thunderstorm struck near the Philadelphia Stadium, forcing the organizers to delay the start of the second half and evacuate the stands to ensure the safety of fans and players.
The stoppage lasted two hours and 12 minutes before the organizing committee announced that the weather conditions had improved and gave the green light for the match to resume for both teams to return to the field and France to continue on their way to another victory and a place in the 32nd final. Read the details
Mbappe paves the way
The “Roosters” imposed their control on the course of the game from the first minutes, taking advantage of individual errors of the Iraqi players, in positions or in passing, at a time when the “Lions of Mesopotamia” had great difficulty in maintaining the French rhythm.
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Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for France in the 14th minute after firing a powerful left-footed shot into the net to give his country an early lead.
At the beginning of the second half, the French team continued to press forward and Mbappe managed to score the second goal in the 54th minute, taking advantage of Otman Dembele’s pass and a mistake by the Iraqi defense in the penalty area.
Dembele shocked Iraq
The French national team did not give the opponent a chance to breathe, as in the 66th minute, Ousmane Dembele scored the third goal after a special pass from Michael Olisse in the penalty area, putting the blue shirts in a very comfortable position.
Olisse added a fourth after almost a minute when he struck a powerful ball that hit the post in the 67th minute, before Adrien Rabiot wasted another chance with a header that went wide in the 68th minute.
Missed opportunity and deferred hopes
On the other hand, Iraq’s most dangerous chance came in the 75th minute when Ali Al-Hammadi received a pass in the penalty area but fired the ball wide of the left post despite being in an ideal position to score.
France maintained their lead until the final whistle with a deserved 3-0 victory that sealed their place in the round of 32, while Iraq now needed a positive result against Senegal in the final round to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
