Mbappe scores twice in 100th international match; France defeats Iraq 3-0

France 3-0 Iraq.

Looking only at the score, it appears to be a match where the tournament favorite won as expected.

However, these 90 minutes contained a story that cannot be explained by that alone.

Kylian Mbappe, playing in his 100th international match, scored two goals. This brings his total World Cup goal count to 16. Furthermore, this is his sixth time scoring multiple goals in a single World Cup match, the most in tournament history.

Updating records on a milestone match.

Moreover, despite a roughly two-hour delay due to a thunderstorm, he did not lose his focus after the restart.

Mbappe is not just a player with fast feet.

He is not just a player who scores goals.

He is a player who, on the world's biggest stage of the World Cup, pulls the flow of the game toward his own goals.

France has won two in a row. With three goals in two consecutive matches, they have secured their spot in the next round.

And next is a match against Norway to decide the group leader.

Chapter 1: Making the 100th match his own

100th international match.

For an ordinary player, it would be no surprise if their emotions were stirred before the match.

Their international career to date. Matches won, matches lost, times criticized, nights of jubilation.

Various memories should cross their mind.

However, Mbappe was his usual self from the very beginning.

One minute in, he dove for Kone's low cross. The timing was slightly off, but he was already in front of the goal.

With this play, a message must have been delivered to the Iraqi defense.

If you leave even a little space behind, I will run into it.

Mbappe is not only dangerous when he has the ball.

Even before the ball arrives, he forces the defensive line to drop back. He steals the center backs' focus and makes the fullbacks aware of the inside.

Just by running, he shifts the opponent's defensive formation.

The first step taken in the first minute was already the run-up to France's opening goal.

Chapter 2: Opening goal with his weaker left foot

In the 14th minute, the game changed.

Receiving a layoff from Michael Olise outside the box, Mbappe did not shift the ball to his right foot.

He swung his weaker left foot through the ball.

The ball went straight into the back of the net.

The star of his 100th international match buried his 15th career World Cup goal.

What is noteworthy about this goal is not just the power of the shot.

It is the lack of hesitation.

The moment the ball came from Olise, Mbappe saw the shooting lane.

If he had trapped it, looked at the opponent, and shifted it to his right foot, it would have been too late.

In front of the goal, even a split second allows the defense to complete their block.

That is why he shot with his left foot.

Instead of 'carrying it to his favorite position,' he 'finishes with the position he has now.'

This decision-making is what makes Mbappe one of the world's top strikers.

Finish the attack before the opponent can set up their defensive block.

Mbappe delivered the opening goal France wanted with a single strike.

Chapter 3: Iraq did not collapse easily

Looking only at the 3-0 result, it feels like it was a one-sided match for France.

However, Iraq showed resilience in the first half.

After losing their opening match against Norway 1-4, they made three changes to the starting lineup, aiming to rebuild their defense.

Furthermore, they suffered a major blow.

Aymen Hussein, the team's top scorer in the Asian qualifiers and the only goalscorer in the match against Norway, was substituted due to injury.

They lost their captain and the focal point of their attack in the first half.

In attack, they lost their target man, and in defense, they couldn't find time to push the opponent back.

Even so, Iraq did not reduce the number of players in front of their goal.

They tightened the center, threw their bodies on the line at the last moment, and continued to prevent France from scoring more.

France's attacking lineup is luxurious.

Mbappe, Dembele, Olise.

If given time in 1-on-1 situations, they can easily tear through a defensive net.

That is why Iraq did not try to stop them individually, but instead used multiple players to cut off passing lanes.

At the point when the first half ended at 0-1, the match was still alive.

France attacked, and Iraq endured.

In Philadelphia, where the rain was intensifying, the match had not yet completely tilted.

Chapter 4: A roughly two-hour delay

At halftime, the match was suspended due to a thunderstorm.

It took about two hours to resume.

For a soccer match, this is an extremely difficult situation.

The body cools down. Concentration is easily lost. The rhythm established in the first half is reset.

For Iraq, who were trailing, it was time to regroup.

On the other hand, France was faced with the question of how to handle their one-goal lead.

Should they push for a second goal and risk a counterattack?

Or should they move the ball around and wait for the moment Iraq pushes forward?

Immediately after the restart, Iraq made a decent start.

However, in the 54th minute, a pass from a goal kick went astray, and goalkeeper Ahmed Basil could not handle the ball.

Dembele recovered it and passed to Mbappe, who was free in the center.

The goal was empty.

Mbappe calmly slotted it home to make it 2-0.

This goal was born from an Iraqi mistake.

However, from France's perspective, it was also the result of their forwards maintaining focus on the opponent's goal kick and heading toward the goal the moment the mistake occurred.

A mistake does not turn into a goal just by waiting for it.

You must commit numbers the moment you win the ball and head toward the goal by the shortest route.

Even with a roughly two-hour delay, France's focus had not wavered.

Chapter 5: The connection between Olise and Dembele

Having scored their second goal, France pushed forward all at once.

In the 58th minute, Olise's chip shot struck the crossbar.

In the 59th minute, following a move by Olise, Mbappe aimed for a direct shot from the cutback.

Rabiot reacted with his head to the loose ball parried by the goalkeeper, but it went just wide of the frame.

And then, in the 66th minute, the third goal was scored.

Dembele broke through with perfect timing onto Olise's through ball.

A player running behind the defensive line.

A player who does not miss that movement and delivers the ball.

It was a beautiful goal where the vision of the passer and the receiver were in sync.

France's strength is not just Mbappe.

If the defense gathers around Mbappe, Dembele becomes open.

If they are wary of Dembele, Olise can turn forward.

If you try to shut down one person, an exit opens up for another player.

This is the terror of the French attacking line.

The third goal was not one scored by individual skill alone.

They shifted the opponent's gaze, created space behind, and passed the ball accurately into it.

It was a goal that broke down the defense not just through speed and technique, but through the relationship between the players.

Chapter 6: Sixth multi-goal game in the World Cup

In this match, Mbappe recorded his sixth multi-goal game in the World Cup.

This is the most in tournament history.

This figure is quite extraordinary.

The World Cup only happens once every four years.

The opponents are all countries that have won their regional qualifiers. The level of caution and analysis is incomparable to regular international matches.

Once you enter the knockout stage, a single loss means you are out of the tournament.

On such a stage, Mbappe has scored two or more goals time and time again.

The phrase "he performs well on the big stage" is not enough.

Even on the world's biggest stage, he can replicate his usual play.

Even if opponents prepare countermeasures for Mbappe, he finds a way to score from outside those measures.

If his speed is neutralized, he finishes with a shot.

If his right foot is guarded, he swings his left.

If space is taken away, he turns forward through coordination with his teammates.

Mbappe does not have just one weapon.

That is why, even though he is studied by the whole world, his scoring does not stop.

16 total goals in the World Cup.

It is already a historic number.

Even so, his own gaze seems to be directed not at the record, but at the next match.

That is what makes him even more terrifying.

Chapter 7: Next up is Norway

France has secured their spot in the next round with two consecutive wins.

Three goals in two straight matches.

Their attacking prowess is impeccable.

They also kept a clean sheet, holding Iraq scoreless.

However, the next match will reveal France's true current standing.

In the final match of the group stage, they face Norway.

Will France control the ball?

Will Norway apply pressure from the front?

How will France's back line manage the space behind them?

And will Mbappe score in his third consecutive match?

The match against Iraq was one that France was expected to win, and they did so decisively.

There was a long delay due to a thunderstorm, and the opponent showed resilience.

Even so, they remained calm, added more goals, and closed out the game.

What a title contender needs is not just flashy victories.

It is the ability to secure three points even when the flow of the game is difficult.

France demonstrated that strength.

And Mbappe has once again turned a milestone—his 100th international appearance—into his own story.

He is no longer just a player chasing World Cup history.

Mbappe himself is starting to become a part of World Cup history.

Conclusion: Watching the match from three perspectives

If we just end by saying "an amazing player scored" for these three French goals, we only see half the picture.

Where was the space?

What were the numbers for the attacking and defending sides?

In which direction did the players and the ball move?

By just looking at these three things, Mbappe's movement, Olise's pass, and Dembele's run behind the defense all connect into a single line.

In my book, "Suddenly Understanding Soccer: The Three Perspectives Edition," I explain how to watch a match from three perspectives that are easy for even beginners to follow: "space, numbers, and direction."

Before memorizing difficult tactical terms, first learn where to look during a match.

Just by doing that, the World Cup becomes much more interesting.

In the next match against Norway, please try to pay attention to the moments when Mbappe does not have the ball.

The battle has already begun before the goal is even scored.

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Host country.

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Even before the matches begin, there are many interesting points about the World Cup.

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