A Dembélé hat-trick inside 32 minutes powered France to a 4-1 win over Norway in Foxborough. The result sealed top spot in Group I with maximum points, and the Ballon d'Or winner now has four goals at the tournament.
A Dembélé hat-trick inside 32 minutes powered France to a 4-1 win over Norway in Foxborough. The result sealed top spot in Group I with maximum points, and the Ballon d'Or winner now has four goals at the tournament.
France struck early in Foxborough. Kylian Mbappé intercepted the ball and released Ousmane Dembélé, who cut in from the right and beat goalkeeper Egil Selvik in the seventh minute. Dembélé doubled the lead on 20 minutes with a curling left-footed finish, and although Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back for Norway seconds later, the forward completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute with a near-identical strike. Désiré Doué added a looping header deep into stoppage time.
Dembélé needed only three shots to score his three goals, each on target. He was withdrawn after 65 minutes with the result secure. Jørgen Strand Larsen had a second-half penalty saved by Mike Maignan.
Despite the headlines, Dembélé played down the display. "This is a unique and important moment for me. But I preferred how I played against Senegal or against Iraq," he said. "I think I was much more influential in those games, so I think we need to stay fully concentrated because we have important things ahead of us."
Defender Maxence Lacroix, who replaced the rested William Saliba, praised his teammate. "He had a great game. It's good for us. It's great to have a player like that who can make the difference," Lacroix said.
Doué, who sealed the win, reflected on his late goal. "It's great, I'm very happy. This goal feels good on a personal level. We all dream of scoring in a World Cup," he said. "We're very pleased with the victory."
France ended the group stage with three wins, nine points and 10 goals scored. They advance as Group I winners. The hat-trick took Dembélé to four goals at the tournament, level with Mbappé, who scored a brace in each of the first two games but failed to find the net against Norway.
Dembélé recorded only the fourth World Cup hat-trick by a France player, after Just Fontaine's two in 1958 and Mbappé's in the 2022 final. His treble was also the first first-half hat-trick at the tournament since Oleg Salenko's against Cameroon in 1994.
The match was an emotional one for Les Bleus, who played without coach Didier Deschamps. He returned to France to attend his mother's funeral and was due back with the squad on Saturday.
Norway boss Ståle Solbakken made 10 changes after his side had already secured qualification, resting Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard and Alexander Sørloth. Benfica's Fredrik Aursnes was the only player retained. Norway go through in second place on six points and meet Ivory Coast in Dallas on Tuesday.
France remain in the north-east of the United States for a last-32 tie against Sweden at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday.
