PHILADELPHIA: Jordan’s World Cup campaign stalled as Algeria secured a 2-0 victory in their second match against the Namibian side in California on Tuesday. The Algerians took an early lead through a goal by Nizar Al Rashdan in the 36th minute, which proved decisive as they added a second in the second half.
With one game remaining, Jordan will face reigning champions Argentina, while Algeria prepares to take on Austria on Sunday.
Meanwhile, France extended their World Cup momentum with a 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday, despite a prolonged weather-related delay. Kylian Mbappe made history by scoring his second brace in consecutive matches, with both goals coming nearly three hours apart due to thunderstorms that pushed back the second-half kickoff by approximately two hours.
“The first half was good,” French manager Didier Deschamps remarked. “In the second half, we picked up where we left off, despite the challenges, and managed to seal the game beyond reach. That’s a very good thing.”
Mbappe’s four goals in this tournament have tied him with Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goal record. Earlier in the day, Lionel Messi set a new benchmark of 18 World Cup goals with a brace in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria.
France’s forward also trails Messi in the Golden Boot race by a single goal. Ousmane Dembele added to the tally for France after halftime, though he had faced scrutiny for a perceived subpar performance in their opening 3-1 win against Senegal.
“There’s no issue,” Deschamps stated. “Ousmane is confident and knows his role. He’s adjusting to his responsibilities, which differ from his club setup.”
Iraq remain in contention for one of the eight third-place spots in the round of 32. They likely need a win in their final group match against Senegal and favorable results elsewhere. Aymen Hussein, who scored in their 4-1 loss to Norway but was substituted in the 26th minute on Monday with an injury, may not feature.
“You witnessed a moment of brilliance from one of the world’s best players,” Ali Al-Hamadi, who replaced Hussein, noted of Mbappe’s first-half goal. “Then we had to wait an hour and a half. It’s tough to maintain the same intensity against elite players, and we made several mistakes again.”
France controlled the early stages, with Mbappe capitalizing in the 14th minute following a pass from Michael Olize. He took one touch to his left and smashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box, beating Ahmed Basil’s dive with his left foot.
The weather disruption also provided drama, as referee Drew Fischer called halftime as storms began. Spectators were directed to stadium concourses as rain intensified. Players resumed warm-ups approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes later, but the restart was further delayed while stadium staff used squeegees to clear water from the pitch’s east side.
