France will try to clinch qualification from the group stage tonight at 24:00 Israel time when it faces Iraq, after opening the tournament with a convincing 3-1 win over Senegal. Iraq began with a 4-1 loss to Norway, and now gets another meeting with one of world football’s biggest attacking threats, Kylian Mbappé.
Mbappé arrives in exceptional form. Against Senegal, he scored twice, becoming France’s all-time leading scorer at age 27. He now has 58 international goals, one more than Olivier Giroud. He also moved ahead of Pelé on the all-time World Cup scoring list with 14 goals, and the match against Iraq is expected to be his 100th appearance for France.
Iraq’s Australian coach, Graham Arnold, has already faced Mbappé’s France before, while coaching Australia at the last World Cup in Qatar. Australia briefly led that match after nine minutes, but went on to lose 4-1, with Mbappé scoring the last goal. Asked yesterday how he planned to stop him this time, Arnold joked, “I asked whether we could go into the game with three goalkeepers, and I was told no.” He then added more seriously, “They have amazing players and it is an honor, but we are focused on ourselves and our performance. We make sure our players are ready to show the world what they are worth.”
Mbappé also spoke at a press conference held in the Philadelphia Eagles’ NFL locker room. He said, “It is always a pleasure when you are given the chance to play for the national team. There is nothing bigger than the national team, especially since it is the World Cup.” On passing Pelé, he said that was “a debate for journalists or fans,” and that his priority is helping France beat Iraq and perhaps “bring the World Cup home in July.” He also said he does not rule out a future move to Major League Soccer, and said he has already received such an approach from David Beckham, one of Inter Miami’s owners. Mbappé replied only, “We’ll see.”
