France and Iraq meet on June 22 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and the gulf between these two squads is about as wide as the one between their FIFA rankings. Les Bleus opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a comfortable 3-1 win over Senegal. Iraq, meanwhile, got taken apart 4-1 by Norway in their opener.
Forecasting models give France roughly an 88.5% chance of victory, with predicted scorelines hovering around 3-0 or as lopsided as 5-1.
What happened in the group so far
France kicked off their Group I campaign on June 16 with a 3-1 victory against Senegal. Iraq’s tournament has been a different story entirely. A 4-1 hammering at the hands of Norway left them bottom of what many analysts have labeled a “group of death.”
Tactical matchup and key players
