France v Iraq: World Cup 2026 – live
?? World Cup kick-off: 5pm ET/10pm BST/7am AEST
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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”.
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