France v Iraq: World Cup 2026 – live
Key events
Here’s Matjaz Hribar. “If there will be a storm in Philadelphia during the match,” he wonders, “will FIFA cancel the hydration break and introduce a drying break?” Good question!
And another! “But Tim,” says Dan on a warm Norfolk coast, “Just Fontaine scored 13 in six games in 1958. No-one is bettering that average.”
Good point! Dan is picking up on the fact that some idiot suggested Mbappe had the best goals per match of any World Cup player, when in fact it’s just among players to have appeared in more than one World Cup. That too should be sorted below.
Messi has five goals in two games in this tournament, so technically, right now, he has bettered that average. He’s on 2.5, to Fontaine’s 2.17. But of course there’s a long way to go. And many more teams are involved in 2026, so the early games may be easier for the big guns.
The first email has landed, some time ago actually. “‘He needs only a hat-trick to grab the all-time World Cup record,’” says Steve Gisselbrecht, quoting an early version of my preamble. “Oh please. That’s so 20 minutes ago.”
Good line! And sorry for the blooper – I wrote it in advance, planning to give it a tweak in the light of whatever Lionel Messi had up his sleeve, and thanks to a misunderstanding it went live a little earlier than expected. It’s fixed now – at least I hope so.
There’s been a spectacular storm in Philadelphia. Thunder, lightning, the lot. It led to a request for fans to delay their arrival, but the gates are open now.
The teams: three changes apiece
Both managers have made three changes. Didier Deschamps brings in Lucas Digne for Theo Hernandéz at left-back, Manu Koné for Aurélien Tchouaméni in the pivot and Bradley Barcola for Désiré Doué on the left wing. William Saliba, who was doubtful, has been passed fit.
Graham Arnold shakes things up even more, changing his goalie as Ahmed Basil replaces Jalal Hassan. That means changing the captain too as Hassan hands the armband to Aymen Hussein. Arnold also brings in Zidane Iqbal, once of Manchester United, at No 10 and Ahmed Qasem on the left. Ali Jasim drops to the bench and so does Ali al-Hamadi, in a cruel blow for Britons who can name only one Iraqi footballer. Hell, Arnold even seems to have changed his formation, from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1.
France (4-2-3-1) Mike Maignan; Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Lucas Digne; Manu Koné, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembêlé, Bradley Barcola; Kylian Mbappe.
Iraq (possible 4-2-3-1) Ahmed Basil; Hussein Ali, Zaid Tahseen, Akam Hashem, Merchas Doski; Zaid Ismael, Amir al-Ammari; Ibrahim Bayesh, Zidane Iqbal, Ahmed Qasem; Aymen Hussein.
(Subs to follow!)
Latest on Birthgate. There’s been a climbdown from L’Equipe, one of whose presenters said, à propos Jérémy Doku, that there was no point in a father witnessing the birth of his child. More importantly, the Doku baby has now arrived. It’s a boy called Praise, born in London – which means he will have the option of playing for England, should he become a footballer too.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to the Kylian Mbappé show. He’s the captain of France, he’s the biggest name in a team full of stars, in fact the biggest name in this World Cup among all those who have yet to turn 38. He needs four more goals to share the all-time World Cup record which Lionel Messi has just set. And Mbappé is already the GOAT in terms of goals per match, among those who have scored at more than one World Cup. He has 14 from 15, just pipping Pelé, who has 12 from 14, staying well clear of Messi, who has 18 from 28, and possibly enraging Cristiano Ronaldo, who has only eight from 23.
Tonight, in Philadelphia, Mbappé will win his 100th cap. The stage is set, but it still takes two to tango. Can Iraq emulate Iran by pulling off a triumphant 0-0? They have never won a point at a World Cup, so it will be a surprise if they manage it against a team as good as France. But they love a challenge and don’t mind a bit of hard work: it took them 21 qualifiers to get here, more than any other nation. And in the Australian Graham Arnold, they have a manager so prone to positive thinking that when others talk of a group of death, he sees only a “group of excitement”.
Mbappé works hard too. France have played only once, against Senegal, but he has watched that game twice. Maybe he was trying to work out why it took them more than an hour to find the net, albeit against a gifted team. The final score, 3-1, may have flattered France, whose defence looked brittle with William Saliba at left centre-back rather than right, where he’s so commanding for Arsenal.
The Iraqis, on the other hand, can feel rather insulted by their first result, a 4-1 defeat to Norway. They were level for much of the first half, spirited and sparky throughout, and had 11 shots, only one fewer than their opponents. They might well have grabbed that elusive point if their finishing had been calmer – or if Erling Haaland had changed sides, as your old school coach would surely have insisted.
The kick-off is at 5pm in Philly, which is 10pm BST. Back soon with the teams.
