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Mbappe's 2 goals help France cruise past Iraq in match prolonged by 2-hour weather delay
Kylian Mbappe scored twice to move into a tie for second in career World Cup goals with 16, and France played through the tournament's first rain delay to beat Iraq 3-0 on Monday and advance to the knockout stage.
Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele also scored for Les Bleus, giving fans who stuck out a rainy night in Philadelphia a reason to cut loose.
Mbappe scored in the 14th and 54th minutes to cap a momentous and soggy 100th international appearance for one of the best players in the world.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as France beat Iraq 3-0 to reach the knockout stage, in a match interrupted by the tournament's first rain delay.
Mbappe's first goal gave France a 1-0 lead into halftime, when heavy rain and an incoming thunderstorm prompted a delay of just over two hours and forced the grounds crew to squeegee water off the swampy Kentucky bluegrass field.
It was the first rain delay of the tournament and the first time in at least several decades that a World Cup match was delayed midgame because of inclement weather. After about 1 hour, 40 minutes, an announcement said the threat had passed, and the teams returned to the field to warm up as rain continued.
With France leading 1-0 at halftime, scoreboard messages directed the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field to take shelter in the stadium's covered areas, warning that a severe storm was on the way. Sheets of rain fell through halftime as thousands of fans huddled in the concourse and under balconies.
A rule used by FIFA pauses games for 30 minutes if lightning is detected within 8 miles. Each strike resets the clock.
FIFA long had a reputation for continuing matches even through extreme weather. A 2014 game between the U.S. and Germany continued in Brazil even after torrential downpour that flooded parts of the surrounding city.
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