Kylian Mbappé reached 100 selections in the France match buildup, but a violent thunderstorm in Philadelphie interrupted the evening before France-Irak. Spectators were later allowed back into the Lumen Field Stadium after a return to normal was announced, yet another storm could still not be ruled out at 16h30 local time.
Koundé frames France-Irak
Before kickoff, Jules Koundé said he wanted to help the team as much as possible and that the short-term objective was France-Irak. France then went onto the pitch for a reconnaissance at the Lumen Field Stadium, with the players’ walkout set to the sound of Michel Delpech’s “le chasseur.”
The France lineup was Maignan, Koundé, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne, Koné, Rabiot, Dembélé, Olise, Barcola and Mbappé. Lucas Digne, Manu Koné and Bradley Barcola replaced Théo Hernandez, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Désiré Doué, while Ousmane Dembélé moved from the axis to the right wing and Michael Olise lined up at number 10.
Mbappé and the 100 selections
Mbappé was listed as a starter and became the 10th player to reach 100 selections in Bleu. He had 14 goals after his two goals against Sénégal, and he said in Sunday’s press conference: “Il n'y a pas plus grand que de jouer en équipe nationale. Cent, c'est un chiffre historique, ça va être spécial pour moi mais l'enjeu va primer, on doit gagner pour se qualifier”.
France had already beaten Sénégal 3-1, while Irak arrived after a 4-1 loss to Norvège and three changes to its lineup. The Irak XI was Basil, Ali, Tahseen, Hashim, Doski, Bayesh, Iqbal, Al Ammari, Ismael, Qasem and Hussein.
Philadelphie weather and timing
The storm hit Philadelphie and the surrounding area hard enough to disrupt the pre-match sequence, but the pitch at the Lumen Field Stadium was described as holding up well. The grass was said to be impeccable and to seem to absorb the water for the moment, while the stadium sound system returned to music as the venue moved back toward a normal pre-kickoff routine.
That routine still sat under pressure. Some fans were preparing barbecue grills and meat in the parking lot despite the rain, and the internal warning at 16h30 kept another thunderstorm in play just 30 minutes before kickoff. France match day had already turned into a weather watch, and the only fixed point left was whether the start would hold or slip again.
