Jordan failed to secure a win in its second World Cup group stage match, falling 2-1 to Algeria in California on Tuesday. Despite taking an early lead through Nizar Al Rashdan in the 36th minute, Jordan conceded two goals to Algeria in the second half. With one group game remaining, Jordan is set to face reigning champions Argentina, while Algeria will play Austria on Sunday.
Algeria's Comeback Against Jordan
Algeria dominated the second half after a tightly contested first half. Jordan's goal came from a well-worked move, but Algeria responded with two unanswered goals to secure the victory. The win keeps Algeria's hopes alive for advancing to the knockout stages, while Jordan faces a tough test against Argentina.
France Overcomes Weather Delay to Beat Iraq
In another Group I match, Kylian Mbappe scored his second brace in as many games as France defeated Iraq 3-0 on Monday. The match was interrupted by a severe thunderstorm that delayed the second half by approximately two hours. Mbappe's goals came in the 14th minute and the 54th minute, with Ousmane Dembele adding a third in the 66th minute.
French manager Didier Deschamps praised his team's performance despite the disruption. "The first half was good," Deschamps said. "In the second half, we picked up where we left off, bearing in mind that it wasn't easy given what happened, and we managed to put the game beyond reach. That's a very good thing."
Mbappe Ties World Cup Goal Record
Mbappe's two goals brought his all-time World Cup tally to 16, tying the previous record held by Germany's Miroslav Klose. Earlier on Monday, Lionel Messi set a new benchmark of 18 World Cup goals with a brace in Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria. Mbappe's four goals in the tournament also put him one behind Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Dembele Responds to Criticism
Dembele, who scored France's third goal, had faced criticism for his performance in the opening win over Senegal. Deschamps defended the winger, saying, "There's no issue. Ousmane is confident in himself. He can sometimes get people talking, but I have complete faith in him. He's still finding his bearings because his role is different from the one he has at his club."
Group I Standings and Iraq's Hopes
France leads Group I with two wins, followed by Norway, who defeated Senegal 3-2 later Monday. France need only a draw against Norway on Friday to top the group due to their superior goal difference. Iraq, after two losses, remain mathematically alive for one of the eight third-place spots that qualify for the round of 32. They likely need a win against Senegal in their group finale and other results to go their way.
Iraq could be without striker Aymen Hussein, who scored in their opening defeat to Norway but came off in the 26th minute against France with an apparent injury. Ali Al-Hamadi, who replaced him, commented on the difficulty of the match: "You have one moment of excellence from one of the best players in the world. And then we have to go inside and wait for an hour and a half. You know, it's really difficult to come out and keep the same intensity against these great players. And in the end I think we made too many mistakes again."
Weather Disrupts Play
The weather delay provided most of the drama in the France-Iraq match. Referee Drew Fischer blew the halftime whistle as storms began, and the skies opened further, forcing spectators to seek shelter. Players re-emerged for warm-ups about 1 hour, 40 minutes later, but the restart was delayed further as stadium personnel used squeegees to clear standing water from the pitch.
