In their second match of the 2026 World Cup, the French national team played at Lincoln Financial Field this Monday, facing Iraq and winning 3-0 . Five Paris Saint-Germain players—all French—featured in the match: Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé. Here are the press ratings for Les Bleus.
Le Parisien:
Mbappé (8)
Barcola (5,5) – Olise (7,5) – Dembélé (7)
Rabiot (5,5) – Koné (6)
Digne (5) – Saliba (5) – Upamecano (6,5) – Koundé (5)
Maignan (5) )
L’Equipe:
Mbappé (8)
Barcola (6) – Olise (7) – Dembélé (7)
Rabiot (5) – Koné (5)
Digne (5) – Saliba (6) – Upamecano (7) – Koundé (5)
Maignan (5)
The ratings reflect a fairly convincing performance by Les Bleus, particularly in attack. We saw creativity and goals—most notably Dembélé’s, which should do wonders for his confidence. Not to mention his assist for the second of Mbappé’s two goals, which came after a poor clearance by Iraq. This is a confidence booster, adding to the fact that qualification was already secured.
Now, only the battle for top spot against Norway remains this Friday. France holds a one-point advantage in goal difference, so avoiding defeat will be enough. However, the level of opposition will be vastly different compared to Iraq—a team that hardly seemed equipped for a deep World Cup run. The squad will need to build on the positives shown yesterday and, in all likelihood, step up their game even further.
