Kylian Mbappe broke France’s goalscoring record, on matchday one at the
▶︎
Watch France vs Iraq live and free on SBS
It’s all very easy for Australian fans with every game of the FIFA World Cup available for free on SBS On Demand. You will need an account and a valid Aussie postcode (e.g. 2026)View Deal
France vs Iraq: World Cup 2026 Preview
There were 77 days between Iraq’s inter-continental play-offs win against Bolivia to become the last World Cup 2026 qualifiers, and their first Group I game against Norway in Boston.
Aymen Hussein cancelled out Erling Haaland’s opener with six first-half minutes to go, but the Manchester City striker soon restored the lead before the interval. The second half at Gillette Stadium was a procession, as Hussein’s own goal meant he became the third player in World Cup history to score at both ends of the pitch.
That added the Norwegians to Paraguay, Belgium and Mexico as the teams to have beaten Iraq at a World Cup. Even Graham Arnold will do well to imagine a world in which France don’t become the fifth.
Two-time winners France are the headline act for the World Cup’s third game at the Linc, where the previous two both went the way of the favourites – Ivory Coast beating Ecuador and Brazil hammering Haiti 3-0 – in front of more than 68,000 fans.
Didier Deschamps’ time in charge looks certain to extend into the round of 32. With a win in Philadelphia today, his team will make the final fixture against Norway immaterial. Nevertheless, France laboured for much of the first hour against Senegal and will want to put this game to bed as early as possible.
This is the first time Iraq have ever played France. Even a point would be one of the biggest surprises of the summer.
France vs Iraq: Group I
FourFourTwo’s prediction
France 4-0 Iraq
Iraq lost 4-1 in their first match of the tournament. FourFourTwo fears for them with Mbappe firing on all cylinders.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.