Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele produced a sensational first-half hat-trick on Friday to inspire France to a commanding 4-1 victory over a heavily rotated Norway side, sealing top spot in their FIFA World Cup group.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward delivered one of the fastest hat-tricks in World Cup history, scoring three times within the opening 32 minutes at Gillette Stadium near Boston, while Norway left star striker Erling Haaland on the bench.
Dembele opened the scoring after just seven minutes before doubling France’s advantage in the 20th minute. Although Thelo Aasgaard briefly reduced the deficit for Norway, Dembele completed his treble in the 32nd minute to restore France’s two-goal cushion.
Only Austria’s Erich Probst, who scored three goals within the opening 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia at the 1954 World Cup, has recorded an earlier hat-trick in the competition’s history.
The performance took Dembele’s tally to four goals at the tournament after he also found the net during France’s 3-0 victory over Iraq earlier in the week.
Desire Doue added a fourth goal in stoppage time to complete another dominant display from the French side.
The victory ensured France finished Group I with a perfect nine points, having scored 10 goals and conceded only one across their three group-stage matches.
Les Bleus will now remain in the northeastern United States, where they are scheduled to face one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams in the Round of 32 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday.
Friday’s victory came under emotional circumstances after head coach Didier Deschamps travelled back to France to attend the funeral of his mother.
Deschamps, who has already announced he will step down after the World Cup following 14 years in charge, is expected to rejoin the squad on Saturday.
Despite the defeat, Norway also progressed to the knockout stage as runners-up with six points after victories over Iraq and Senegal had already secured qualification.
Coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to the side that defeated Senegal 3-2, resting several key players, including captain Martin Odegaard, Erling Haaland and striker Alexander Sorloth.
Only Benfica midfielder Fredrik Aursnes retained his place in the starting lineup, with the Norwegian coach expected to restore his strongest team for the knockout stage against Côte d’Ivoire in Dallas next Tuesday.
France also rotated parts of their squad, with Arsenal defender William Saliba unavailable because of a back complaint.
Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix replaced him, while Theo Hernandez, Desire Doue and Aurelien Tchouameni all returned to the starting lineup.
Kylian Mbappe, earning his 101st international appearance, remained in the team as he continued his pursuit of Lionel Messi’s World Cup scoring record.
However, it was Dembele who stole the spotlight.
Mbappe provided the assist for the opening goal, releasing Dembele on the right before the forward cut inside and fired a precise finish across goalkeeper Egil Selvik into the far corner.
The 29-year-old struck again midway through the first half, curling a low effort beyond Selvik after drifting inside from the right flank.
Norway responded almost immediately as Rangers midfielder Thelo Aasgaard capitalised on a lapse in concentration from the French defence to score from a low finish shortly after the restart.
Dembele quickly extinguished any hopes of a Norwegian comeback by curling home his third goal from inside the penalty area to complete a memorable hat-trick.
The PSG forward’s transformation into one of world football’s most dangerous attackers has accelerated since being deployed in a more central role by club manager Luis Enrique.
His treble also placed him alongside French football legends Just Fontaine and Kylian Mbappe as the only players to score World Cup hat-tricks for France.
Norway had an opportunity to narrow the deficit further early in the second half after Oscar Bobb was brought down inside the penalty area by Theo Hernandez.
However, striker Jorgen Strand Larsen failed to convert from the spot, with French goalkeeper Mike Maignan producing a comfortable save.
France wrapped up the victory in stoppage time when Desire Doue headed home the fourth goal to underline another convincing performance from the tournament favourites.
