Weather delay and all, France advances to the next round of the World Cup, defeating Iraq

By Mario Amaya 

Philadelphia, PA- On Monday afternoon, both France and Iraq entered their 2nd match of the World Cup on opposite sides of the moral spectrum. France entered this match with their morale at a high after defeating Senegal in their first match of the World Cup, while Iraq, who played their first World Cup match since 1986, fell 4-1 to Norway. 

Iraq was looking to get the upset of the tournament, but in a match that had a near two-hour delay due to severe weather, it would be France that would come out with a comfortable victory against the Lions of Mesopotamia in Philadelphia in front of a full house by a final score of 3-0. As France’s all-time leading goal scorer, Kylian Mbappé is the star of the show. 

Weather delay 

As the end of the first half approached, heavy rain started falling in and around the Philadelphia Stadium, soaking fans and players alike. Once the whistle blew for halftime, FIFA announced that it would delay the start of the second half for 15 minutes due to severe weather in the area.

This was the first-ever weather delay in the history of the World Cup. The delay lasted for over two hours as fans were asked to seek shelter. FIFA rule states that if lightning is detected within 8 miles of a venue requires fans to evacuate the seating areas, and the game to be paused for 30 minutes, and each lightning strike would reset the clock. 

Kylian Mbappé ties Miroslav Klose in the all-time World Cup goal scorers list

Mbappé started the day in third place on the all-time leading goal scorers record for World Cups with 14 goals. A record that Leo Messi broke earlier in the day against Austria with his brace, bringing his tally to 18 World Cup goals all-time. 

Not to be outdone and keep pace with Messi, the French star opened up the scoring in the 14th minute after a quick give-and-go with Michael Olise. Mbappé shot the ball from outside the box, with his shot curling past goalkeeper Ahmed Basil to score his third goal of the tournament, and his 15th all-time in World Cups. 

Mbappé would get his second of the game in the 54th minute, as Iraq attempted to play the ball from their own backline, as defender Zaid Tahseen attempted to play the ball to Basil. Still, the goalkeeper was unable to control the ball inside the box and ended up falling to the feet of Ousmane Dembélé, who played the ball across to Mbappé, who tapped the ball into the back of the net.

Mbappé is now tied in second place with Germany’s Miroslav Klose for all-time leading goalscorers in World Cups with 16 goals. He is now also tied with Norway’s Erling Haaland in second place in the goalscoring leader board for this tournament with 4 goals. 

France would cap off their win in the 66th minute as Olise played the ball to Dembélé inside the box. Dembélé placed his shot in the left-hand corner of the net to score his first goal of the tournament.