Man City 2026 World Cup Watch: Rayan Cherki makes cameo appearance in three-hour long France win vs Iraq

Rayan Cherki took on the final 24 minutes of France’s heavily disrupted 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday night.

France strengthened their grip on Group I via an encounter heavily disrupted by severe weather that saw the second half delayed by over two hours due to nearby lightning strikes.

Rainstorms earlier in the day had already delayed fans entering the stadium, though the match initially commenced on schedule with France asserting their dominance in the 14th minute when Kylian Mbappé arrowed a precise, left-footed drive into the far corner.

Despite losing captain Aymen Hussein to an early injury, Iraq managed to stabilise and enjoy spells of possession after a first-half hydration break, frustrating the 2018 champions until the extended weather interval took effect.

When play finally resumed under the floodlights, Les Bleus capitalised on a calamitous defensive error to double their advantage, as Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil miscontrolled a short goal-kick from Zaid Tahseen, allowing Ousmane Dembélé to intercept and unselfishly set up Mbappé for a routine tap-in.

The strike marked Mbappé’s 16th career FIFA World Cup goal, drawing him level with Miroslav Klose for joint-second on the tournament’s all-time scoring charts – just two behind Lionel Messi, who had broken the record earlier the same day.

France sealed three points when Michael Olise, who had previously hit the crossbar with an audacious chip, delivered a spectacular outside-of-the-foot pass to find Dembélé, who arrowed home a low shot to net his first-ever major tournament goal in his 20th national appearance.

Rayan Cherki match statistics vs Iraq

24 Minutes28 Touches18 Accurate Passes86% Pass Accuracy5 Passes Into Final Third2 Recoveries2 Ground Duels Won1 Tackle1 Successful Dribble1 Big Chance Created

Data courtesy of FotMob.