France cruised to a 3-0 victory over Iraq on Monday as Kylian Mbappe celebrated his 100th international appearance by scoring twice in a World Cup match that was delayed for more than two hours due to severe weather.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 14th minute before adding his second goal early in the second half. Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele also found the net as France continued their strong start to the tournament.
With his brace, Mbappe increased his World Cup tally to 16 goals, moving within two of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who set a new tournament record of 18 goals after scoring twice against Austria earlier in the day.
The match at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field began as scheduled, but heavy rain and a severe storm moved into the area late in the first half. Fans were instructed to leave open seating sections and seek shelter in covered areas after the halftime whistle.
Most of the 68,324-capacity stadium is uncovered, forcing thousands of spectators into concourse areas while they waited for the weather to improve.
The second half eventually resumed more than two hours later, marking the first World Cup match of the tournament to be disrupted by adverse weather conditions. Under US safety regulations, games must be suspended when severe storms are detected nearby.
Mbappe’s latest goals followed the two he scored in France’s opening 3-1 victory over Senegal. The 27-year-old Kylian Mbappe recently became France’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing the previous record of 57 goals held by Olivier Giroud.
The France captain now has 60 international goals in 100 appearances, with 16 of those goals coming in just 16 World Cup matches.
