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Kylian Mbappé makes the difference in France's victory against Iraq

Kylian Mbappé shined in France's 3-0 World Cup win over Iraq, scoring two goals and showcasing his talent despite being delayed by bad weather.


Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland. Three of the best players in the world, all linked to this World Cup by having scored a brace in their opening matches. This tally has only been surpassed by one player: Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick in Argentina's match against Algeria and followed that exploit with a brace against Austria. It was an extraordinary start for a footballer who many still consider the best in the world. In this World Cup, however, it seems that there is only one player capable of keeping up with Messi: Kylian Mbappé. A few hours after Messi became the best scorer ever at the World Cup, Mbappé also wanted to make his declaration of intent, helping France win 3-0 against Iraq and thus ensuring passage to the round of 16. "Messi, it's clear," Mbappé replied to those who asked him who was the best between him, Messi, Kane and Haaland, on the eve of the match. "For me it's not a question that I ask myself," he added, explaining that what matters now is helping France win their third world title. Those who saw the Philadelphia game, however, might have a different opinion. Mbappé, who reached 100 appearances for the national team in this match, took to the pitch with a very different attitude to that shown previously. From the first minutes he was the protagonist of high-class plays, such as when he overcame an opposing defender with a tunnel and was immediately brought down in the area. It is clear that the opponents will have to resort to fouls to stop him, given that an attempt to stop him by Amir Al Ammari in the opening minutes was extremely foul. The exchanges between Mbappé, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé in the first minutes made it clear that France, in this World Cup, can count on an enormous offensive arsenal, and if the goal did not arrive on that occasion it is only because the three need to find more understanding. Mbappé, however, did not wait long to score, and he did so in spectacular fashion: receiving the ball just outside the area, left completely alone by the Iraqi defenders, he unleashed a powerful shot that went into the opposite seven. A goal of overwhelming beauty, which seemed to have come from a YouTube video shot during training. The first half ended with the score 1-0, but the second half had an unexpected event: a violent storm hit the Philadelphia stadium, forcing the referee to suspend the match for over two hours. Wet fans and fans largely forced to leave the stands to take shelter. When the match finally restarted, it was immediately clear that France had not lost their rhythm at all, and it was all uphill for Iraq. In fact, after a few minutes France doubled their lead: if the first goal was the result of great technique, the second was practically a tap-in, given that the Iraqi goalkeeper Ahmed Basil sensationally missed a pass, causing it to carom at the feet of Dembélé, who with an empty net fed Mbappé, who had no difficulty in scoring. At this point the Frenchman also had Messi's record of goals scored at the World Cup in his sights, and tried in every way to score the third goal: he created opportunities for himself and his teammates, he tried a spectacular volley, but the third goal didn't arrive. However, his performance was stratospheric, and the audience was able to appreciate all its qualities. The final result was 3-0 for France, who won by a much larger margin than the score might suggest. With this brace, Mbappé reaches 16 goals scored at the World Cup, equaling his career total of goals scored in the competition. In short, an evening to remember for the talent of PSG.

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