Kylian Mbappe<\/a>, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland. Three of the best players on the planet, each linked at this World Cup<\/a> in that they scored a brace in their opening games<\/a>. <\/p>\n This tally was only surpassed by one man. Lionel Messi<\/a>, the player who has spent 15 years surpassing all of his contemporaries, scored a hat-trick as Argentina beat Algeria.<\/p>\n He followed that triple with a brace against Austria in his second game. It was a real statement start from a man many believe is still the world\u2019s best player. At this World Cup, it feels like there might only be one man who can keep up with him. <\/p>\n Just a few hours after the Argentine had become the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history<\/a>, the man who is best-placed to inherit his crown delivered his own World Cup statement, as Kylian Mbappe helped France secure a place in the last 32<\/a> with a commanding win over Iraq. <\/p>\n \u201cMessi, it\u2019s clear,\u201d answered Mbappe when asked who was best out of himself, Messi, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland in the build-up to the game. <\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s not a question in my head,\u201d he went on to explain, highlighting that the only thing that matters now is helping France to win a third World Cup. Anyone watching the action in Philadelphia would be forgiven for thinking slightly differently. <\/p>\n Mbappe, himself fresh off becoming his country\u2019s top all-time goalscorer<\/a> after his brace against Senegal, was making his 100th appearance for Les Blues. But as soon as this match kicked off, it certainly felt like the all-time World Cup scoring record was also on his mind. <\/p>\n The France striker was on the front foot from the off, and it was strangely suitable that he was scythed down by Amir Al Ammari so cynically early on. Perhaps that is the only way to stop him. <\/p>\n Mbappe\u2019s early combinations with both Michael Olise<\/a> and Ousmane Dembele<\/a> were an exciting reminder that this France squad possesses an unrivalled depth of attacking talent, and while they could not find the final ball early on, it was clear that they were here to make a statement. <\/p>\n For Mbappe specifically, some showmanship on the right wing suggested that he was in the mood to entertain, and he didn\u2019t take long to deliver on that promise as he scored a superb opener. <\/p>\n Receiving the ball just outside the area, and with Iraq affording him far too much space, he needed no invitation to rifle a ferocious strike into the far corner past a helpless Ahmed Basil. It was ruthlessly efficient and made to look so easy, as if it had been scored in a YouTube video filmed during a training exercise. <\/p>\n That was the only goal of the first half at the Philadelphia Stadium, and the action on the pitch gave way to action off it as a thunderstorm moved in, delaying the start of the second half by two hours as drenched fans packed the concourses and the seats emptied. <\/p>\n As the rain continued to hammer down, the storm circling around the Philadelphia Stadium at half-time felt like a suitable metaphor for Iraq. France were not going to lose their rhythm, and it was only going to get more difficult from here. <\/p>\n It was not long before Iraq conceded again. If the first goal had required remarkable skill, the second required almost none, with Ahmed Basil failing to control a simple pass before Dembele squared it for Mbappe to tap into an empty net. The Frenchman was not about to let the weather \u2013 or Messi \u2013 steal the show. <\/p>\n While the rain in Philly subsided, the France onslaught did not. Mbappe remained at the heart of things, showing some stunning touches in such difficult conditions and almost grabbing an assist as he took down a pass brilliantly before laying it off to Olise, whose sumptuous lob had Basil flailing before it bounced back off the crossbar.<\/p>\n Olise remained at the heart of things throughout, the orchestrator to Mbappe the finisher, and he had his moment late on, sliding a great pass into the path of Dembele, who lasered a low finish into the corner to seal the result. <\/p>\n Though they would be expected to win this game easily, France beat Iraq in a manner that was eye-catching in its ruthlessness and quality, in stark contrast to how teams such as Spain and Portugal have toiled against lesser sides at this tournament. <\/p>\n As always, Mbappe was at the forefront of it all, a constant threat against an admittedly weak Iraq side. But while some might argue that a group stage match against such opposition does not bring a lot of pressure for someone like Mbappe, a player of this calibre always takes to the pitch with a different weight of expectation.<\/p>\n The celebrations certainly suggested as much, with the Frenchman celebrating both his strikes with plenty of excitement. Nevertheless, it\u2019s difficult to tell whether this reaction was him inadvertently admitting that he has an eye on the record that Messi shattered in his own spectacular week. <\/p>\n In any case, as he was brought down in the area after nutmegging a defender, and as he tried the audacious volley from a clipped pass late on, it was clear that Mbappe was enjoying himself once more on the world\u2019s biggest stage. <\/p>\n For all the criticisms of his club career so far, it\u2019s undeniable that his World Cup exploits put him among the tournament\u2019s greatest players. Despite his press conference comments, the 27-year-old seems set on reminding everyone that he is still one of the world\u2019s top players, and scoring his 15th and 16th World Cup certainly goals went some way to doing so. <\/p>\n Indeed, despite all their talent, it feels like France will need Mbappe to deliver to the same levels he did in 2018 and 2022 if they are to win this tournament. Thankfully, although it\u2019s early days, he looks set to do so.<\/p>\n If 2018 was Mbappe launching himself to stardom, 2022 was a reminder of his world-beating talents. We do not yet know what 2026 will be, but if he can carry on this form, it could be the tournament that elevates him to the pantheon of the sport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1044114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5309],"tags":[17733,47671,2000,299,1512,19560,75473,36,287392,166367,287391,44888,70433,252298,10470,287393,15160,287390,47681,147743,59502,287389,4342,2249,87919,252301,10031,252297,93,252847,659,255559],"class_list":["post-1044113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-celebration","tag-color-image","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-france","tag-france-national-soccer-team","tag-france-national-team","tag-group-i","tag-horizontal","tag-international-match","tag-international-team-soccer","tag-iraq","tag-iraq-national-soccer-team","tag-kylian-mbappe","tag-lincoln-financial-field","tag-match-sport","tag-motion","tag-national-team","tag-number-10","tag-pennsylvania","tag-photography","tag-scoring","tag-scoring-a-goal","tag-soccer","tag-soccer-player","tag-sport","tag-sports-team","tag-usa","tag-world-sports-championship"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1044114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1044113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1044113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"France](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782183214_736_download...jpeg\")
France have now booked their place in the last 32 of the World Cup (AP)<\/p>\n![\"Mbappe\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2282841535...jpeg\")
Mbappe\u2019s brace took him to 16 World Cup goals, a tally only bettered by Lionel Messi (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Mbappe's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782183221_313_download...jpeg\")
Mbappe’s opening goal was the 15th that he’s scored in World Cups (AP)<\/p>\n![\"Dembele](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2282843220...jpeg\")
Dembele assisted Mbappe’s second and rounded off the result with a goal of his own (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Mbappe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782183226_191_download.-1..jpeg\")
Mbappe had chances to complete his hat-trick but could only fire wide and straight at Ahmed Basil (AP)<\/p>\n