Ousmane Dembele scores record hat-trick as France beat Norway 4-1

Ousmane Dembele scores record hat-trick as France beat Norway 4-1

Ousmane Dembele recorded one of the fastest hat-tricks in World Cup history on Friday, leading France to a 4-1 victory over Norway at Boston Stadium. The result ensures France finishes top of Group I with a perfect record, having scored 10 goals in three games.

Dembele, the reigning men's Ballon d'Or winner, completed his treble within 32 minutes. His first goal arrived in the seventh minute after a crossfield pass from Kylian Mbappe released the Paris Saint-Germain forward, who cut in from the right and fired a right-footed shot across goalkeeper Egil Selvik. Dembele added a second in the 20th minute, curling a low left-footed strike into the far corner after another Mbappe assist.

Norway responded almost immediately. From a restart, Andreas Schjelderup set up Thelo Aasgaard, who used a body swerve to beat two defenders before striking a low shot past Mike Maignan from 15 yards. The respite was brief; Dembele restored France's two-goal lead in the 32nd minute, curling a left-footed shot into the bottom corner following a team move that involved all 11 French players.

Dembele's feat is the second-fastest hat-trick in the tournament's history, trailing only Austria's Erich Probst, who scored three in 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia in 1954. It also marks the first time a French player has scored a first-half World Cup hat-trick, a feat previously achieved only by Oleg Salenko for Russia in 1994.

The match was played in the absence of France coach Didier Deschamps, who returned to France for his mother's funeral. Assistant coach Guy Stephan led the side, though the squad remained potent. France nearly scored after only 22 seconds when Mbappe hit the crossbar. The dominance continued into the second half, though Norway had a chance to close the gap when Oscar Bobb was fouled by Theo Hernandez. However, Jorgen Strand Larsen's penalty was saved by Maignan.

Desire Doue added a fourth goal in stoppage time, heading home a cross from substitute Bradley Barcola. France's attacking form has put Dembele and Mbappe tied for second in the Golden Boot race with four goals each, trailing only Lionel Messi, who has five.

Norway entered the match having already secured a place in the knockout rounds. Coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to the starting lineup, leaving stars Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard as unused substitutes. Fredrik Aursnes was the only player retained from the previous match. Solbakken defended the decision to rest his key players, stating that the team is here to go as far as possible and needed to charge their batteries.

The victory makes France the first team since 1998 to win all three of their group games. Norway advances as runners-up with six points.

The tournament now moves into the Round of 32. France will face one of the third-placed teams — likely Sweden — on Tuesday, June 30, at 10pm at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Norway is scheduled to play Ivory Coast on Tuesday, June 30, at 6pm in Dallas, Texas.