Kylian Mbappe scored his second brace in as many matches as France secured a place in the Round of 32 with a 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday in a World Cup opener disrupted by a lengthy weather delay.
Mbappe’s goals in his 100th international appearance came nearly three hours apart after thunderstorms in the area pushed the second-half kickoff back by about two hours.
"The first half was good,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. "In the second half, we picked up where we left off. It was not easy given what happened, but we managed to put the game beyond reach. That is a very good thing.”
Mbappe now sits on 16 World Cup goals, drawing level with Germany’s Miroslav Klose on the all-time list. Earlier Monday, Lionel Messi set a new record with 18 World Cup goals after scoring twice in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria.
Mbappe’s four goals also put him one behind Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele also scored after halftime for two-time champions France, who will face Norway on Saturday with the Group I title on the line. Norway defeated Senegal 3-2 later Monday night to also move to 2-0-0 in the event.
Because of their superior goal difference, France need only a draw against Norway on Friday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to top the group.
Dembele had faced criticism for what some regarded as a poor performance in France’s 3-1 opening win over Senegal.
"There is no issue,” Deschamps said. "Ousmane is confident in himself. He can sometimes get people talking, but I have complete faith in him. He is still finding his bearings because his role is different from the one he has at his club.”
Iraq remain alive for one of the eight third-place spots that will qualify for the Round of 32.
They would likely need a win in their group finale against Senegal and help elsewhere. They could be without Aymen Hussein, who scored in their 4-1 opening defeat to Norway but came off in the 26th minute Monday with an apparent injury.
"You have one moment of excellence from one of the best players in the world,” Ali Al-Hamadi, who came on for Hussein, said of Mbappe’s first-half goal. "And then we have to go inside and wait for an hour and a half. It is really difficult to come out and keep the same intensity against these great players. In the end, I think we made too many mistakes again.”
France dominated the early stages, and Mbappe capitalized in the 14th minute.
After an innocent-looking sequence on the right, Mbappe received Michael Olise’s pass, took one touch to his left and, with defenders affording him space, unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the area that sailed beyond Ahmed Basil’s dive. The 20-yard effort came off his weaker left foot.
The weather delay could have served as a recovery period for Iraq, who spent most of the first half chasing the ball. Instead, they gifted France and Mbappe a second goal in the 54th minute after a dreadful mistake on a goal kick.
Dembele was the provider for Mbappe’s tap-in. Dembele scored himself 12 minutes later after controlling Olise’s incisive pass and finishing low past Basil.
With the outcome never in doubt, the weather provided most of the drama.
After referee Drew Fischer blew his halftime whistle as the storms were already beginning, the skies opened further and spectators were told to seek shelter in stadium concourses.
The players finally re-emerged for warm-ups about an hour and 40 minutes later, and even then the restart was delayed further as stadium personnel used squeegees to clear standing water from the east side of the pitch.