Mbappé's Men and a Storm of Indifference: France v Iraq Begins in Philadelphia

The World Cup has a habit of throwing up the unexpected, and long before a ball was kicked at this stadium in Philadelphia, the atmosphere was already a curious blend of fervour and forced jollity. It took a two hour storm delay to eventually get France and Iraq underway, but for those of us watching on from the press box, the real talking point was the bizarre pre match pageantry that preceded the downpour.Paul MacInnes, our man on the ground at GoalZaza, reported that the ground was packed to the rafters, a genuine testament to the appeal of this fixture. The French support, predictably, is colossal; he tells me he followed a load of them to the ground today, a sea of blue shirts and tricolores. But do not underestimate the Iraqi contingent. They have packed out the stand behind one goal, a vibrant, noisy presence that has been visible all over the city in the days leading up to this match. This is a genuine football occasion, a clash of cultures and styles that promises more than just a routine group stage encounter.Yet the pre match build up was, in a word, weird. The organisers deployed a big load of loud music and two hype merchants in the stands, trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy. The players, particularly Kylian Mbappé, received a huge cheer as the teams were read out. But then came the call for everyone to "Join us in a round of applause for peace!". The response, according to MacInnes, was lukewarm at best. You could almost feel Gianni Infantino's heart sink from here. It was a stark reminder that you can manufacture noise, but you cannot manufacture genuine sentiment. The crowd, already buzzing for the football, simply wasn't having it. Now, with the storm having passed and the pitch declared fit, the real business begins. Can France's stars handle the heat of expectation, and will Iraq's resolute low block frustrate them The answers are about to unfold.