France’s World Cup clash against Iraq has been halted due to adverse weather conditions. Warnings were put in place ahead of the Group I clash, which is taking place at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
And although the game kicked off as planned, with Kylian Mbappe giving France the lead after just 14 minutes, just before half-time, the heavens opened, and with lightning activity approaching, the match was halted at the break. Supporters were also told to “exit the open seating areas” of the ground.
Confirming the delay to the start of the second-half, BBC presenter Kelly Cates said: “There is a delay to the start of the second-half, there’s what they call lightning activity in the area around the stadium in Philadelphia. So they’re going to wait until that passes.
“Fans are being asked to take shelter outside of the stadium bowl itself. There are really strong safety protocols in place in the United States. So they’re just going to go get everybody safe, and then the minute there hasn’t been any lightning activity for 15 minutes, the players will come out and then they will warm up for 15 minutes, and then the second-half will get underway. Fingers crossed, we’re hoping that the storm is going to pass in plenty of time.”
Severe storms took place in Philadelphia ahead of kick-off, with supporters at one point told not to make their way to the stadium due to the conditions. And France boss Didier Deschamps was asked at his pre-match press conference on Sunday if he was worried about the prospect of heavy rain for their second match of the tournament.
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He said: “We have played in the heat (at MetLife) so, if there is some rain, good, because the grass will be faster and the quality will be better, much better than the one in New York. The pitch in New York was really tough — it took a lot out of the players’ muscles.”
While Lauren Lambrugo, chief operating officer of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, revealed ahead of the tourament the protocol in the event of a match being postponed due to inclement weather. “They’ll start to evacuate the stadium to the main concourse and seek emergency shelter,” he said. “And then it has to wait 30 minutes prior to them bringing everybody back on the field.”
France headed into this game looking to secure another three points, having beaten Senegal 3-1 in their opening match of the tournament. Deschamps’ side, who have the likes of Mbappe, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembele in their ranks, will be able to clinch a spot in the knockout stages if they beat Graham Arnold’s side here.
View 2 ImagesKylian Mbappe opens the scoring against Iraq(Image: Getty Images)
France, who won the World Cup back in 2018, are currently second in their group behind leaders Norway, who claimed a 5-1 win over Iraq in their opening match of the tournament last week. But speaking ahead of the game, Deschamps sent a warning to his side, saying: “We must not underestimate the Iraqi team, they are not a small team.
“They have qualities and have shown them in matches against Spain and Bolivia. We may make some changes, but our goal will remain to achieve victory. The match against Iraq will not be an easy one… we must not think it will be easy.”
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