France took a slender 1-0 lead into the halftime break against Iraq after a moment of brilliance from Kylian Mbappé lit up an entertaining first half of their FIFA World Cup Group I clash.
The breakthrough arrived in the 14th minute when Michael Olise threaded a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Mbappé. The France captain made no mistake, curling a superb first-time effort into the right-hand corner beyond the helpless Iraqi goalkeeper to hand Les Bleus the advantage.
The goal carried even greater significance for the French superstar, who drew level with Brazilian legend Ronaldo on the FIFA World Cup all-time goalscoring chart. It was a fitting milestone on Mbappé’s 100th appearance for Les Bleus, marking the landmark occasion with another historic contribution.
France controlled large spells of the opening 45 minutes, moving the ball with confidence and creating several promising attacks, while Iraq remained disciplined and looked to threaten on the counterattack.
With Mbappé’s landmark strike separating the two sides at the interval, France are on course for another crucial World Cup victory, though Iraq will be determined to mount a response after the restart.
