By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-06-21 10:24:56 | Updated at 2026-06-23 21:02:24
2 days ago
Can Kylian Mbappé make history as he joins France’s centurions club? Look ahead to this Group I clash at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with our France vs Iraq prediction and preview.
France vs Iraq: The Key Insights
- France are regarded as heavy favourites to win this match, coming out on top in 88.1% of the Opta supercomputer’s 25,000 simulations.
- Iraq have lost all four of their previous FIFA World Cup matches and could become the very first Asian nation to suffer defeat in each of their opening five games across the tournament’s history.
- France are seeking to win both of their opening two matches at a World Cup for the fourth successive edition – having done so in just one of their previous 13 appearances in the competition (1998).
France play Iraq at Philadelphia Stadium on Monday and it could be a momentous occasion for Kylian Mbappé.
The Real Madrid forward will make his 100th appearance for France, assuming he features, and after already becoming his nation’s all-time top scorer both overall and at the men’s World Cup with his brace against Senegal on Matchday 1, he will have the tournament’s all-time scoring record in his sights.
That’s if Lionel Messi doesn’t get there first.
Mbappé’s brace against Senegal took his World Cup goal tally to 14 – two short of Miroslav Klose’s record – but Messi jumped the queue with a hat-trick against Algeria just hours later, and the Argentine now shares the title with Klose.
The change in the order of games for MD2 means that Messi’s Argentina will face Austria in the match directly before France face Iraq.
We could therefore be in store for a historic evening. If Messi were to draw a blank against Austria, Mbappé would know that a hat-trick could see him take the lead as the competition’s all-time top scorer at the age of 27.
France took some time to get going against Senegal and could have been behind at half-time, but a change in approach from manager Didier Deschamps saw them move into top gear in the second half.
Most notable was the switching of roles for Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise; Dembélé had started the game in a No. 10 role with Olise on the right wing, but Deschamps swapped them around to great effect.
Many would consider Olise to be a superior playmaker, and France’s threat in-behind increased with the Bayern Munich star playing in the hole and ready to pick out the runs of Mbappé. Indeed, it was Olise’s assist for Mbappé that saw France take the lead midway through the second half.
Olise’s assist was his 10th goal involvement (7 goals, 3 assists) for France in just 18 appearances; only Mbappé (17) has reached the milestone faster for Les Bleus in the 21st century. Meanwhile, a goal or assist against Iraq would see him directly contribute to a goal in three successive outings for the very first time for France.
Victory for France in this match would see them win both of their opening two matches at a World Cup for the fourth successive edition, having done so in just one of their previous 13 appearances in the competition (1998).
Don’t put it past Deschamps to make a few changes to his forward line. He only made two substitutions against Senegal, and none until the 80th minute when Dembélé was replaced by Bradley Barcola, who scored two minutes later.
Rayan Cherki replaced Désiré Doué with three minutes of normal time remaining, and despite a fairly quiet cameo, he will feel his club performances last season for Manchester City deserve a start against what is likely to be a much lower block than the one Senegal enforced.
It will be a tough day for Iraq, irrespective of who plays for France. They held their own initially against Norway before suffering a 4-1 defeat on MD1. The vast difference in quality quickly became evident, and Erling Haaland cashed in with a brace.
Iraq have lost all four of their previous World Cup matches, and could become the very first Asian nation to suffer defeat in each of their opening five games across the tournament’s history.
Aymen Hussein will feel he can have a say; he scored 12 goals during the AFC World Cup qualifiers – twice as many as any teammate – and netted Iraq’s goal against Norway, just their second ever at the World Cup.
Still, as long as Messi doesn’t beat him to it, all eyes will be on Mbappé and his quest for goals, and another record, goes on.
France vs Iraq Head-to-Head
This will be the first ever encounter between France and Iraq.
Iraq have won two of their last four matches across all competitions against European opponents, as many victories as they recorded in their previous 16 such encounters.
Having avoided defeat in each of their first 13 meetings with Asian opposition in all competitions, France have since lost both of their last two without scoring: 1-0 vs both China and Japan.
France vs Iraq Prediction
The Opta supercomputer understandably regards France as heavy favourites to win this match, and any other result would be a huge shock. Deschamps’ side were triumphant in 88.1% of the 25,000 pre-match simulations.
The next most likely result is a draw, at 8.1%, while Iraq earned a famous victory in 3.8% of simulations.
France vs Iraq Squads
France: Brice Samba, Mike Maignan, Robin Risser, Malo Gusto, Lucas Digne, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Koundé, Ibrahima Konaté, William Saliba, Théo Hernández, Lucas Hernández, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Koné, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Michael Olise, N’Golo Kanté, Adrien Rabiot, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Rayan Cherki, Maghnes Akliouche, Ousmane Dembélé, Marcus Thuram, Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola, Désiré Doué, Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Iraq: Fahad Talib, Jalal Hassan, Ahmed Basil, Rebin Sulaka, Hussein Ali, Zaid Tahseen, Akam Hashim, Munaf Younus, Ahmed Maknzi, Merchas Doski, Mustafa Saadoon, Frans Putros, Ibrahim Bayesh, Zidane Iqbal, Amir Al Ammari, Kevin Yakob, Aimar Sher, Marko Farji, Zaid Ismael, Youssef Amyn, Ali Al Hamadi, Mohanad Ali, Ahmed Qasem, Ali Yousif, Ali Jasim, Aymen Hussein.
France vs Iraq Predicted Lineups
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