Ousmane Dembele has been a key piece for France for years now. But there was one glaring hole on his resume: no World Cup goal. That changed Monday night.
Dembele scored his first ever World Cup goal in the 58th minute against Iraq, helping France cruise to a 3-0 win in Matchday 2. It was a clean strike, low and hard past the keeper. The moment clearly meant something to him. He’s been through two World Cups with France — sat out the 2018 run when they won it, then started every game in 2022 but never found the net.
This time around, he came in hot. Dembele won the Ballon d’Or for the 2025-26 season as the best player in Europe. So the expectation was there. And he delivered.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice, because of course he did. That puts Mbappe at the top of the scoring charts so far in this tournament. But the story here is Dembele finally getting that monkey off his back. The guy has 50-plus goals for club and country over the last two seasons alone. A World Cup goal was the only thing missing.
What This Win Means for France
France now sits alone at the top of Group I with six points. They’ve beaten Iraq and look like the team to beat in what was supposed to be the tournament’s Group of Death. Norway, Senegal, and Iraq are all chasing them. Norway actually looked dangerous in their opener against Iraq, winning 4-1. But France handled business.
Iraq came in as heavy underdogs and played like it. They couldn’t generate much going forward and spent most of the night chasing the game. After a 4-1 loss to Norway and now this, they’re likely heading home early.
France’s group finale is against Norway on June 26 at 3 p.m. ET. A win locks up the top spot and probably a friendlier draw in the knockout rounds. Les Bleus haven’t lost a group stage match since 2010. They’re not about to start now.
Dembele said after the match he was proud of the goal but focused on what’s next. That’s the kind of quote you expect from a veteran. But you could tell he was holding back a smile.
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