France v Iraq: World Cup 2026 – live

⚽️ World Cup kick-off: 5pm ET/10pm BST/7am AEST
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Latest on Birthgate. There’s been a climbdown from L’Equipe, one of whose presenters said, à propos Jérémy Doku, that there was no point in a father witnessing the birth of his child. More importantly, the Doku baby has now arrived. It’s a boy called Praise, born in London – which means he will have the option of playing for England, should he become a footballer too.

Evening everyone and welcome to the Kylian Mbappé show. He’s the captain of France, he’s the biggest name in a team full of stars, in fact the biggest name in this World Cup among all those who have yet to turn 38. He needs four more goals to share the all-time World Cup record which Lionel Messi has just set. And Mbappé is already the GOAT in terms of goals per match, among those who have scored at more than one World Cup. He has 14 from 15, just pipping Pelé, who has 12 from 14, staying well clear of Messi, who has 18 from 28, and possibly enraging Cristiano Ronaldo, who has only eight from 23.