Iraq head coach Graham Arnold knew his team would be up against a behemoth when they faced France at the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Monday.
"I asked if we could play three goalkeepers, but they said no," Arnold said with a laugh while meeting with the press on Sunday. "Look, they've got some incredible players, and it's an honor."
Arnold added, "We can't control France's performance, but we can control our own. And it's making sure that the players are completely ready to go out there and show the world what they're about, and that's the most important thing."
Three goalkeepers wouldn't have been enough to save Iraq from a 54th-minute blunder that will haunt them for the foreseeable future.
Iraq defender Zaid Tahseen passed an errant ball to goalkeeper Ahmed Basil, which awkwardly bounced off his boot and directly into the possession of France's Ousmane Dembélé. Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, quickly played a perfect ball to Kylian Mbappe, who easily put it away for his second goal of the match.
France won 3-0, and Mbappe recorded his second straight brace to open his 2026 World Cup. The Real Madrid star is looking to win his second straight Golden Boot, given to the tournament's top goal scorer. So far, Mbappe (4) and Norway's Erling Haaland (4) are second to Lionel Messi's five.
More holistically, Mbappe is trying to steal Messi's thunder as the top all-time World Cup goal scorer. Messi scored a brace in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria earlier Monday to bring his all-time total to 18 goals and set the new record, but Mbappe is right behind him with 16 all-time goals in 16 World Cup appearances.
As a gift from the soccer gods, we'll get to watch Mbappe and Haaland have a goal-off when France and Norway meet in their Group I finale on Friday, June 26.
Source: Newsweek
