PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Neither rain, nor lightning, nor a swampy field — and certainly not overmatched Iraq — could stop Kylian ²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé.
Yeah, it got a bit messy on the pitch.
Weather aside, this game — as so many do for France — belonged to ²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé as he tries to keep pace on the World Cup career goals list with
scored twice to move into a tie for second in goals with 16, and France played through the tournament's to beat Iraq 3-0 on Monday and advance to the knockout stage.
“I’m only thinking about helping my team,†²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé said. “By helping my team, I score goals, and when you score goals, of course, you get closer to that kind of level.â€
Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé also scored for Les Bleus, giving fans who stuck out a rainy night in Philadelphia a reason to cut loose.
²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé and 54th minutes to cap a momentous and soggy 100th international appearance for one of the best players in the world. Fans of all ages wore his jersey, either walking around Philadelphia earlier in the afternoon or in the rows of seats at Lincoln Financial Field, which had a sellout crowd of 68,234.
²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé's first goal gave France a 1-0 lead at halftime, when heavy rain and an incoming thunderstorm prompted a delay of just over two hours. Grounds crews used squeegees to push water off the swampy Kentucky bluegrass at the home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
“It was very difficult, because we had to stay focused, we had to stay engaged in the locker room,†²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé said.
Scoreboard messages directed the crowd to take shelter in the stadium’s covered areas, warning that a severe storm was on the way. Sheets of rain continued to fall through halftime as fans wrapped themselves in ponchos and huddled in the concourse and under balconies.
Iraq coach Graham Arnold wrestled with a poncho for a few seconds before he pulled it over his head and returned to the covered dugout. France fans who stayed in their seats in the last few covered rows of the top of the stadium waved the country’s flag, and many splashed around the concourse to pass time.
Others fled for the exits — at the same stadium where last season's Eagles opener was in the third quarter because of lightning — as the delay dragged on, giving overseas spectators a triple dose of American sports nuisances: rain delays, and TV timeouts in the form of There was no second-half hydration break in this game after the long, wet pause in the action.
Playing in his third World Cup, the 27-year-old ²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé matched Miroslav Klose of Germany on the goals list and moved one ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo.
Messi scored twice for Argentina earlier Monday to set the tournament record at 18. He had equaled Klose with in win over Algeria last Tuesday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé scored his third goal of the tournament with a left-footed strike — his supposed weaker foot — from the edge of the box that got past Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil, who got his first start in the tournament after captain Jalal Hassan allowed all four goals in Iraq’s to Norway.
For his second goal, ²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé to the goalkeeper by Iraq defender Zaid Tahseen. Dembele controlled the loose ball and passed to ²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé, who tapped it in with his right foot.
²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé had a chance at the hat trick on a late breakaway, but missed before he was subbed out at the 90-minute mark.
“He can take Messi, he can take Ronaldo,†France coach Didier Deschamps said. “He does have the capacity to up his ante.â€
²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé helped France win the World Cup in 2018 and reach the final in 2022, when he was awarded the Silver Ball as the second-best player. Joined up front by Désiré Doué and Dembélé, France entered this year’s tournament as a co-favorite with Spain.
France could return to Philadelphia to play Germany on July 4.
“We’re going to try to analyze it in the coming days, see what we can improve, because I think there are two or three things we could have avoided,†²Ñ²ú²¹±è±èé said.
Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was subbed out with an apparent injury in the 26th minute of the first half and replaced by Ali Al-Hamadi. Hussein scored his 34th international goal in Iraq’s World Cup opener.
Iraq is playing in the World Cup for just the second time after debuting in 1986.
___
AP World Cup:
