Mbappe scores twice as France weather the storm to seal knockout spot
- France vs Iraq: Mbappe scores twice in his 100th appearance as Les Bleus qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage.
- Mbappe extended his World Cup tally to 16 goals, moving joint second on the all-time scoring chart and closing in on Lionel Messi’s record.
- Dembele also netted his first World Cup goal as France cruised to a 3-0 victory over Iraq at Philadelphia Stadium on Tuesday, June 23.
Kylian Mbappe netted a brace on his 100th international appearance for France, bringing his total FIFA World Cup goals to 16, as Les Bleus cruised past Iraq to secure their place in the 2026 knockout stage.
The 3-0 triumph in Philadelphia on Tuesday morning did not come without a hitch though as the contest was delayed by at least 130 minutes due to a torrential downpour and violent thunderstorms at the venue.
The opening half was drenched in chaos, with sheets of rain hammering the stadium.
Despite the French dominating large spells, they could not breach Iraq’s resilient rearguard, except for a 14th minute strike from Mbappe that proved the difference in that encounter.
ALSO READ: Argentina vs Austria: Messi sets new World Cup scoring record, sends Argentina to knockout stage
Operating on a whole other plane, the Real Madrid icon showed exactly why he is considered one of the game’s elite.
He ignited the move himself, feeding Michael Olise down the right flank, and the Bayern Munich playmaker swiftly returned the favor.
Mbappee, cutting onto his left boot, unleashed a ferocious drive from 20 yards out.
The Iraqi keeper got a fingertip to it, but the sheer venom behind the shot carried it over the line, Mbappe’s third of the 2026 tournament and 15th overall in World Cup appearances.
After the two plus hour weather interruption, the match resumed with France dictating proceedings on the sodden turf.
Then, in the 54th minute, Mbappe grabbed his second of the day, his fourth of the competition, having already scored in the opener against Senegal.
This one came courtesy of an unselfish Ousmane Dembele, who pounced on a mishap from Iraqi custodian Ahmed Basil. Basil fumbled a near post delivery from Ahmed Qasem, and Dembele coolly squared it to Mbappe, who made no mistake in slotting home.
Dembele, the Ballon d’Or winner, had not managed to find the net in the first half or in France’s opener, despite his PSG pedigree.
But that selfless assist to his captain was soon followed by his first ever World Cup goal moments later.
A sublime clipped pass from Olise found him in the box, and Dembele turned sharply before dinking the ball into the net to make it three for his country, a maiden World Cup strike that will surely be the first of many.
Iraq rarely threatened to alter the outcome, despite holding their own in midfield during the first period.
Their knockout hopes now rest on the final group encounter against Senegal, who are trailing 2-0 to Norway in their concurrent fixture.
France, meanwhile, will wrap up their group campaign against Norway on the same day.
France vs Iraq FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I lineups, Tuesday, June 23, 2026
- France starting lineup (4 2 3 1): Mike Maignan; Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne; Manu Kone, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola; Kylian Mbappe.
- Iraq starting lineup (4 2 3 1): Ahmed Basil; Hussein Ali, Akam Hashim, Zaid Tahseen, Merchas Doski; Amir Al Ammari, Zaid Ismael; Ibrahim Bayesh, Zidane Iqbal, Ahmed Qasem; Aymen Hussein.
Read more about other World Cup teams in 2026 below:
Morocco national football team 2026
Argentina national football team 2026
Mexico national football team 2026
Spain national football team 2026
Brazil national football team 2026
France national football team 2026
Senegal national football team 2026
France vs Senegal lineups
Related
PakarPBN
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a collection of websites that are controlled by a single individual or organization and used primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” in order to influence its ranking in search engines such as Google. The core idea behind a PBN is based on the importance of backlinks in Google’s ranking algorithm. Since Google views backlinks as signals of authority and trust, some website owners attempt to artificially create these signals through a controlled network of sites.
In a typical PBN setup, the owner acquires expired or aged domains that already have existing authority, backlinks, and history. These domains are rebuilt with new content and hosted separately, often using different IP addresses, hosting providers, themes, and ownership details to make them appear unrelated. Within the content published on these sites, links are strategically placed that point to the main website the owner wants to rank higher. By doing this, the owner attempts to pass link equity (also known as “link juice”) from the PBN sites to the target website.
The purpose of a PBN is to give the impression that the target website is naturally earning links from multiple independent sources. If done effectively, this can temporarily improve keyword rankings, increase organic visibility, and drive more traffic from search results.
Roma vs Bologna Europa League knockout prediction: Match preview, key stats & h2h – Kenya’s sports news, betting and casino updates
Roma will host Bologna in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout playoff on Thursday night, looking to book a place in the quarterfinals.
The two teams played out to a 1-1 draw in the first leg last week, setting up the second leg to be a potentially explosive encounter. Lorenzo Pellegrini scored a late equalizer to salvage a point for Roma.
Roma have been eliminated from this stage in four of their last seven appearances in the competition. The pressure is on for a victory in the home leg as they look to qualify for the last eight.
Bologna are unbeaten in 10 Europa League matches and will be a true test for the hosts. Their impeccable away form also gives them more than a fighting chance at qualification.
We have a look at both sides ahead of the highly anticipated clash and offer our predicted outcome.
ALSO READ: Europa League knockout round second leg predictions: Match preview, key stats & h2h
What time does Roma vs Bologna start?
The game kicks off at 11PM E.A.T
Roma vs Bologna team news
Paulo Dybala and Evan Ferguson remain sidelined through injury and will not feature. Zeki Celik also went off injured in the first leg and will sit this one out.
The goal scorer from the first leg, Pellegrini will be a key part of the hosts. The attacking trio will be completed by Stephan El Shaarawy and new signing Donyell Malen.
The rest of the team will remain unchanged from the first leg.
For the visitors, Juan Miranda is suspended and will not play. As well as Lorenzo di Silvestri and Nikola Moro who are injured.
Bologna are expected to remain a similar XI to the side that started at the Stadio Olimpico.
ALSO READ: Senegal to appeal ‘unjust’ AFCON 2025 ruling after CAF award title to Morocco
Roma vs Bologna head-to-head and current form
The hosts come into the game without a win in their last four games in all competitions – losing twice in that run.
Bologna on the other hand have won three of the last five matches, losing just one of those games. The visiting side have won all of their last five away matches and will be confident they can extend that record here.
There have been two draws in the recent five head-to-head matches between these two sides, with Bologna holding a slight advantage with two wins.
Current form:
Roma – LDLDW
Bologna – WDLWW
Roma vs Bologna previous games
Roma vs Bologna prediction
Despite having home advantage, Roma’s form has been worrying, and they are expected to be under pressure from Bologna throughout the 90.
Bologna’s away form is impressive and they cannot be counted out here, goals are a better option for the game.
Prediction – Both teams to score– CLICK HERE TO PLACE YOUR BET ON THIS GAME!
Related
PakarPBN
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a collection of websites that are controlled by a single individual or organization and used primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” in order to influence its ranking in search engines such as Google. The core idea behind a PBN is based on the importance of backlinks in Google’s ranking algorithm. Since Google views backlinks as signals of authority and trust, some website owners attempt to artificially create these signals through a controlled network of sites.
In a typical PBN setup, the owner acquires expired or aged domains that already have existing authority, backlinks, and history. These domains are rebuilt with new content and hosted separately, often using different IP addresses, hosting providers, themes, and ownership details to make them appear unrelated. Within the content published on these sites, links are strategically placed that point to the main website the owner wants to rank higher. By doing this, the owner attempts to pass link equity (also known as “link juice”) from the PBN sites to the target website.
The purpose of a PBN is to give the impression that the target website is naturally earning links from multiple independent sources. If done effectively, this can temporarily improve keyword rankings, increase organic visibility, and drive more traffic from search results.