Philadelphia, June 23 (IANS) On his 100th international appearance, Kylian Mbappe struck either side of an extended half-time break while Ousmane Dembele added a third as France beat Iraq 3-0 and stormed into the Round of 32 with a game to spare.
Mbappe has now scored two or more goals in six FIFA World Cup matches – more multiple-goal games than any other player in the tournament’s history. His brace took him on to four for the tournament, just below Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot standings, and maintained his extraordinary goal-a-game record at the global finals.
Mbappe rifled France into a 14th-minute lead, crashing home a ferocious left-foot shot from 20 yards after being teed up by Michael Olise. Zaid Tahseen and goalkeeper Ahmed Basil made an almighty mess of a goal kick, presenting the ball to Dembele, who squared up his captain for a routine second.
If Mbappe’s 15th World Cup goal was a cracker, hsi 16th was something of a gift. Mbappe started the match below Ronaldo’s mark of 15 FIFA World Cup goals, the third highest tally. First he matched that mark and then skipped ahead of it. He now sits joint second, alongside Miroslav Klose, on 16, just two shy of new record-holder Lionel Messi (17).
Dembele’s reward for that unselfishness came 12 minutes later when the ever-inventive Olise slid him in to crash home the first World Cup goal of his stellar career.
France and their star-studded attack now march on to an intriguing clash with Norway safe in the knowledge that they will play knockout football regardless of the outcome.
Mbappe, meanwhile, will continue his personal duel with Messi for both the 2026 Golden Boot and the all-time World Cup scoring record.
Moreover, the next milestone in his sights will be 103 caps, the total held by Didier Deschamps, his long-standing coach and ninth on the list of players with the most caps for Les Bleus. If France were to progress further in this World Cup and he was to play every game, Mbappe would equal that total in the Round of 16.
–IANS
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