Mbappe opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a left-footed strike from 20 yards into the upper left corner, then tapped in a second goal early in the second half after a mix-up between Iraq defender Zaid Tahseen and goalkeeper Ahmed Basile. Ousmane Dembele added France's third in the 66th minute, his first World Cup goal.
Earlier that day, Messi became the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 18 career goals after netting his fourth and fifth of the tournament. Mbappe, who had briefly led Messi after scoring twice against Senegal last week, now sits two goals behind with 16 career World Cup tallies.
We executed the game plan, but they are good.
Iraq defender Rebin Sulaka offered that assessment after the loss. France coach Didier Deschamps praised Mbappe's finishing ceiling afterward.
Not sure if Kylian will play to their age, but if he plays, he will score a lot of goals. Has the capacity to up his ante.
The 3-0 result strengthens France's path toward the knockout round and could set up a return to Philadelphia for a round-of-16 match, possibly against Germany on July 4.
