Dembélé hat-trick secures top spot for France in World Cup Group I
Ousmane Dembélé's first-half hat-trick propelled France to a 4-1 victory over a depleted Norway side, sealing top spot in Group I and setting up a New Jersey knockout tie.
France secured top spot in World Cup Group I with a dominant 4-1 victory over Norway in Boston, a result powered by a ruthless first-half hat-trick from Ousmane Dembélé. The win ensures the French team will travel to New Jersey for a last-32 tie on Tuesday. Norway, despite showing flashes of attacking talent, must now regroup for a meeting with Côte d’Ivoire in Texas.
The match was effectively decided before it found a competitive rhythm, largely due to Norway’s heavily rotated lineup. Coach Ståle Solbakken opted to rest Erling Haaland and nine other starters, a gamble rooted in squad cohesion rather than tactical cynicism. Facing the tournament favourites with an unfamiliar defensive structure yielded immediate and punishing consequences.
France required just 20 seconds to nearly break the deadlock, with Kylian Mbappé hitting the crossbar from an oblique angle after a loose Norwegian touch. The pressure was relentless, and Manu Koné tested goalkeeper Egil Selvik shortly after. When the opening goal arrived in the sixth minute, it was a product of chaotic defending, with Mbappé threading a diagonal pass for Dembélé to finish into the far corner.
Dembélé doubled the lead in the 20th minute, exploiting the exact same space and finishing into the same corner. Norway briefly disrupted the French momentum straight from the restart, as Thelo Aasgaard finished neatly after being found by Andreas Schjelderup. Yet any hopes of a genuine upset were extinguished when Dembélé completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute, once again cutting inside to find the far corner.
The second half offered a stark study in the differing tournament realities for these European nations. Norway fought for a foothold and won a penalty when Oscar Bobb drew a trip from Théo Hernandez, but substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen saw his soft kick saved by Mike Maignan. Désiré Doué later headed in a fourth from Bradley Barcola’s cross to seal the result.
For the European game, the result exposed the strategic limitations facing nations that lack the super-squad riches of their rivals. Norway’s mass rotation was an unavoidable risk given their shallow talent pool, but surrendering momentum against elite opposition damages the development of a team with genuine, albeit tentative, late-stage ambitions. France, deploying Mbappé wider on the right and Michael Olise centrally, proved exactly why their varied attack makes them the tournament’s most formidable European force heading into the knockouts.
