France overwhelm Norway 4-1 as Dembele nets rapid World Cup hat-trick

Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele scored a stunning first-half hat-trick as France swept aside a second-string Norway team 4-1 on Friday in one of the standout performances of the World Cup group stage.

Dembele struck in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes at Gillette Stadium near Boston, becoming one of the quickest players ever to complete a World Cup treble.

The only faster hat-trick in tournament history was recorded by Austria’s Erich Probst, who scored three goals within 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia in 1954.

The Paris Saint-Germain attacker now has four goals at the tournament following his strike in Monday’s 3-0 win over Iraq, while France’s convincing display highlighted the growing attacking support around captain Kylian Mbappe.

Desire Doue completed the scoring late on as France secured maximum points from the group phase, scoring 10 goals across three matches to advance as Group I winners.

France will face a third-placed qualifier in the round of 32 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey next Tuesday.

Les Bleus played under difficult circumstances after coach Didier Deschamps travelled back to France following the death of his mother. The long-serving manager, who will leave his role after the World Cup, is expected to rejoin the squad on Saturday.

Norway, already assured of qualification after victories over Iraq and Senegal, finished second with six points.

Manager Stale Solbakken heavily rotated his squad, making 10 changes from the side that beat Senegal 3-2.

Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard and Alexander Sorloth were all rested, with Fredrik Aursnes the only player to keep his place in the starting lineup.

France also made changes, with Maxence Lacroix replacing the injured William Saliba, while Doue, Theo Hernandez and Aurelien Tchouameni returned.

Mbappe earned his 101st international cap as he continued his pursuit of Lionel Messi’s overall World Cup scoring tally of 18 goals.

Still, the evening belonged to Dembele.

Mbappe assisted the opener, releasing Dembele down the right before the winger cut inside and fired beyond Egil Selvik.

Dembele struck again with a low curling effort into the far corner after drifting infield from the flank.

Norway briefly responded through Rangers midfielder Thelo Aasgaard, who scored immediately after the restart following a lapse in the French defence.

But Dembele quickly completed his hat-trick with another left-footed finish into the bottom corner from inside the penalty area.

His three goals in 25 minutes may not have broken the World Cup record — held by Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss, who scored a hat-trick in less than eight minutes in 1982 — but it placed Dembele alongside Just Fontaine and Mbappe as the only French players to score World Cup hat-tricks.

Norway missed a chance to get back into the game when Jorgen Strand Larsen saw his penalty saved by Mike Maignan after Oscar Bobb was fouled by Theo Hernandez.

Doue sealed France’s victory with a late header in stoppage time.

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