France forward Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I match between France and Iraq at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 22, 2026. — AFP pic Earn a fixed rate of up to 4.2%* p.a. for 210 days with Versa Save! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply. Tuesday, 23 Jun 2026 10:05 AM MYT PHILADELPHIA, June 23 — Kylian Mbappe scored his second double of the tournament as France eased ‌into the last 32 with a 3-0 victory over ​Iraq on Monday 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 delayed the second-half kickoff by a shade under ​two hours.They took him to 16 all-time World Cup goals, pulling him level with Germany’s former record holder Miroslav Klose.Earlier on Monday, Lionel Messi set a new benchmark of 18 World Cup goals with ​a brace in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria.Mbappe’s four goals also put him one behind Messi in the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot race.Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele also scored after halftime for two-times champions France.Iraq remain alive for one of the eight third-place spots.They will probably 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 by ⁠Norway but came off in the 26th minute on Monday ⁠with an apparent injury.France dominated ⁠the early stages and ⁠Mbappe capitalised 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, ⁠unfurled a powerful strike from the edge of the area that sailed beyond Ahmed Basil’s dive.The weather delay could have served as a recovery period for Iraq, who spent most of the match chasing the ball. Instead, they gifted France and Mbappe a second in the 54th minute after a dreadful mistake from a goal kick.Dembele was ⁠the provider for Mbappe’s tap-in. He 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 the stadium ​concourses.The players finally re-emerged for warm-ups about one ​hour and 40 minutes later and, even then, ‌the restart was delayed further as stadium personnel used ​squeegees to shuttle standing water ​off the east side of the pitch. — Reuters