Mbappe set for century and more as France face Iraq

All eyes will be on Kylian Mbappe when France face Iraq in their second Group I match on Monday, with the Real Madrid superstar set to make his 100th appearance for Les Bleus and continue his pursuit of World Cup history. 

Assuming he features, Mbappe will reach the century mark for France just days after becoming his country's all-time leading scorer and World Cup marksman with a brace in the 3-1 opening win over Senegal. The 27-year-old now has 14 World Cup goals, leaving him two shy of Miroslav Klose's all-time record which has been freshly broken by Argentina's Lionel Messi today.

However, Lionel Messi complicated that chase when he struck a hattrick against Algeria just hours later to draw level with Klose on 16 goals. The 38-year-old then struck against Austria to break the record.

While Mbappe's record pursuit provides the main storyline, France are also closing in on the knockout rounds. Another victory would secure Didier Deschamps's side a place in the last 32 after their impressive opening win in New York. 

Deschamps is expected to resist wholesale changes despite the depth of talent available. France looked vulnerable at times against Senegal but dominated after the break, and the coach appears keen to preserve the balance of a side widely regarded as one of the tournament favourites.

The most likely changes could come on the left flank, where Bradley Barcola may replace Desire Doue in attack and Lucas Digne could come in for Theo Hernandez at left-back. Midfielder Manu Kone is also pushing for a start after lengthy discussions with Deschamps and a week of training alongside Adrien Rabiot.
Elsewhere, France are expected to retain the spine that impressed against Senegal, with Mbappe leading an attack featuring Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele. 

While qualification remains the immediate objective, the match also offers Deschamps an opportunity to test alternatives ahead of the knockout rounds without disrupting the team's rhythm. 

Iraq, who drew 1-1 with Spain in a friendly days before the tournament started, have never won a World Cup match, losing all three of their group games at their only previous appearance in 1986. 

Despite the disparity in pedigree, France are taking nothing for granted. 

"We've watched some of the videos from their game against Norway and I think they have a good team," centre-back William Saliba said. 

"It won't be easy, even if people think that because we're playing Iraq we'll automatically get the three points."
 

Highlights:

**Mbappe is set to make his 100th appearance for France. 

**Mbappe has 14 World Cup goals, two behind the all-time record of 16. 

**Iraq have never won a World Cup match, having lost all three games at their only previous appearance in 1986. Another defeat would make them the first Asian nation to lose each of their opening five World Cup matches. 

** Iraq needed to play 21 qualification matches in order to earn their place in this tournament, grabbing the last available spot by beating Bolivia 2-1 in their intercontinental playoff. 

**Aymen Hussein could have a key role to play; he scored 12 goals during the AFC World Cup qualifiers – twice as many as any of his teammates -- and netted Iraq's goal against Norway, only their second-ever at a World Cup.