FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — France’s forward Ousmane Dembélé netted a first-half hat trick, including a goal assisted by Kylian Mbappé, leading his team to a 4-1 victory over Norway in their World Cup match on Friday.
Dembélé’s scoring spree occurred in the seventh, twentieth, and thirty-second minutes, making him the first player to score a first-half hat trick at the World Cup since Russia’s Oleg Salenko achieved the feat against Cameroon during the 1994 tournament in the United States.
This victory secured top position in Group I for France, who finished the group stage with a perfect nine points after winning all three matches. Norway finished second with six points.
“I’m very happy. It’s a unique and special moment for me,” Dembélé expressed after the match. “However, I felt I had a greater impact in our matches against Iraq and Senegal.”
In the round of 32, Norway is set to clash with Ivory Coast in Dallas, while France will take on a third-place team yet to be determined in New Jersey.
The highly anticipated matchup between Norway and France was framed as a Golden Boot contest between Erling Haaland and Mbappé, but with Haaland resting, it was Dembélé who delivered a standout performance, netting three well-placed goals before halftime.
Dembélé, the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, has now scored four goals in the ongoing World Cup and exited the game in the 65th minute, making way for Bradley Barcola.
“We need to maintain our focus. This match was significant to top the group,” Dembélé added. “We aim to win every challenge ahead, which will be even tougher. Our squad is filled with quality on the field and on the bench. The communication between us forwards is key—it makes everything easier.”
“We have developed a better understanding among ourselves, and we must keep that going.”
Late in the second half, Paris Saint-Germain’s Désiré Doué added another goal to solidify France’s three-goal win over Norway, who had previously secured their advance to the knockout stage.
The scoring opened just seven minutes into the match when Mbappé executed an outstanding crossfield pass to Dembélé, who skillfully maneuvered before firing the ball into the net.
Mbappé played a critical role in Dembélé’s second goal in the 20th minute, fending off Leo Ostigard to set up Dembélé, who then cut inside and curled a beautiful shot past Norway’s goalkeeper Egil Selvik.
Norway quickly responded, with Andreas Schjelderup assisting Thelo Aasgaard, who expertly maneuvered past two defenders before finding the back of the net against Mike Maignan.
Dembélé completed his hat trick after a deliberate team build-up play, once again cutting inside to bend a shot into the far corner.
The quickest hat trick in World Cup history was achieved in just 7 minutes and 42 seconds by Hungary’s László Kiss in 1982 against El Salvador, while the fastest from kickoff was recorded by Austria’s Erich Probst, who scored three times within the first 24 minutes of a match against Czechoslovakia in 1954.
With this victory, France, the reigning World Cup champions of 2018 and runners-up four years ago, had already secured their place in the knockout stages before the match against Norway.
Information from The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.