Philadelphia: 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, his 16th was something of a gift. 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. IANS
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