Dembélé first-half hat trick sees France win group
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- Ousmane Dembélé scored in the 7th, 20th, and 32nd minutes to record the first first-half hat trick at a World Cup since Russia's Oleg Salenko scored three of his five goals against Cameroon in 1994.
- France finished atop Group I with a perfect nine points from three group-stage wins, while Norway took second with six points despite resting star striker Erling Haaland.
- Kylian Mbappé created two of Dembélé's three goals — a crossfield pass for the opener and a run past Leo Østigard to set up the second — while Paris Saint-Germain's Désiré Doué added a late fourth to seal the 4-1 win.
- Dembélé, the 2025 Ballon d'Or winner, has now scored four goals at this tournament and was substituted in the 65th minute for Bradley Barcola; he named his earlier performances against Iraq and Senegal as preferred.
- Norway coach Ståle Solbakken made wholesale changes to his starting XI to rest key players ahead of the round of 32, conceding the group to France — Norway now faces Ivory Coast in Dallas while France meet a third-place finisher in New Jersey.
- Andreas Schjelderup briefly silenced France when his release of Thelo Aasgaard led to Norway's lone goal, wrong-footing two defenders before beating Mike Maignan.
- France, the 2018 champions and 2022 finalists, had already secured their knockout-round place before Friday's match; the fastest World Cup hat trick ever belongs to Hungary's László Kiss at 7 minutes, 42 seconds in 1982.
Why it matters: Dembélé's three-goal burst moves him into the Golden Boot conversation alongside Haaland, Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, and Messi — and France, now tournament-tested with a perfect group stage, draws a weaker third-place opponent in New Jersey rather than the group runner-up, buying Didier Deschamps' side a clearer path in the knockout rounds.
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