Storm forces lengthy delay in France’s clash with Iraq
The game was stopped at half-time following lightning strikes near the ground in Philadelphia with France leading 1-0.
France’s match against Iraq in Philadelphia became the first at this summer’s World Cup to be delayed by thunderstorms.
Les Bleus led 1-0 through a Kylian Mbappe goal when heavy rain began late in the first half.
The start of the second half was delayed due to the threat of storms.
The players returned to the pitch to warm up in heavy rain almost two hours after the half-time whistle was blown.
The game restarted at 8pm local time, two hours and 11 minutes after the players left the pitch.
Because of the lengthy delay, there was no hydration break during the second half with Mbappe grabbing his second and Ousmane Dembele scoring to complete a 3-0 win for France.
France boss Didier Deschamps accepted the delay as “a question of safety”.
“You can’t fight against rain and lightning,” he said. “We have to adapt. These are very special circumstances and I do hope they will not happen again.”
Games have to be paused for 30 minutes when lightning strikes within eight miles of the venue, with the clock resetting each time there is a new strike.
In New Jersey, fans were briefly cleared from MetLife Stadium amid heavy rain ahead of Norway’s clash with Senegal, which went ahead as scheduled with the Norwegians securing their qualification for the knockout phase alongside France with a 3-2 win.
A flood watch has been issued by the US National Weather Service in the area and nearby New York.