Day 12 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 reached the penultimate day of the second round of group games, with Lionel Messi's Argentina facing Austria and Kylian Mbappe's France meeting Iraq as both sides looked to secure knockout stage qualification before the final group fixtures.
France took an early lead against Iraq at Lincoln Field in Philadelphia. Kylian Mbappe fired a left footed shot from outside the box past the Iraqi goalkeeper for a 1 0 advantage, his third goal of the tournament and his 15th World Cup goal overall. France made three changes from their opener, with Bradley Barcola, Lucas Digne and Manu Kone coming in for Desire Doue, Theo Hernandez and Aurelien Tchouameni.
At half time France still led 1 0, but the second half did not resume on schedule. Lightning around the venue triggered a weather delay, with spectators in uncovered areas ordered to evacuate the stands for the concourse. Officials assessed radar and heavy wind and rain at the stadium, and play was pushed back with resumption pending further clearance. A Thunderstorm Watch remained in effect locally into the evening, and the France vs Iraq match was listed as interrupted with no immediate restart.
Elsewhere on the day 12 slate, Norway vs Senegal was set for 02:00 CET with both teams unchanged from their openers, and Jordan vs Algeria was scheduled for 05:00 CET. Lionel Messi started a late move as Argentina extended their lead against Austria in the closing stages. Argentina 2-0 to back up their opening game win, and Messi is on five goals already.
