Ousmane Dembele Shines with Hat Trick as France Dominates Norway 4-1 in World Cup Clash

Dembele's Stellar Performance

Foxborough (US): Hold on, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe; Ousmane Dembele has entered the race for the Golden Boot.

In a stunning display, Dembele netted a first-half hat trick, including a goal assisted by Mbappe, leading France to a 4-1 victory over Norway in the World Cup match on Friday.

Dembele's goals came in the 7th, 20th, and 32nd minutes, marking the first first-half hat trick in the World Cup since Oleg Salenko scored three of his five goals against Cameroon in 1994.

Dembele remarked, "This is a unique moment, but our priority was to finish first in the group stage. We are now focused on the round of 32, which is crucial."

Having already secured a spot in the knockout stage before this match, France, the 2018 World Cup champions, faced a Norway team that also qualified and finished second in their group.

Desire Doue added France's final goal during injury time in the second half.

Dembele emphasized that altering their strategy for the final group match was never an option, as France has scored a total of 10 goals across three matches.

"We aim to win every match while maintaining our focus," he stated.

The record for the fastest World Cup hat trick is held by Hungary's Laszlo Kiss, who scored three goals in just 7 minutes and 42 seconds against El Salvador in 1982.

The quickest hat trick from the start of a match was achieved by Austria's Erich Probst in 1954, scoring three goals within the first 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia.

Dembele, who won the Ballon d'Or as Europe's top player in 2025, has now scored four goals in this World Cup, leaving the game in the 65th minute, replaced by Bradley Barcola.

Norway's Thelo Aasgaard managed to score shortly after Dembele's second goal, finding the net just 14 seconds into the second half. However, Dembele quickly restored the two-goal lead with his third goal.

With this match, Dembele raised his international goal tally to eight, while Mbappe boasts 16 goals and four assists in 17 World Cup appearances, having scored twice in previous matches against Senegal and Iraq.

Norway's lineup was missing 10 regular starters, including Erling Haaland, who was rested. Egil Selvik took over in goal for Orjan Nyland.

Norway's coach, Stale Solbakken, stated that resting key players was an easy choice due to the short break between matches.

"The gap we had from our last game was the shortest of any team. It was a straightforward decision," he explained. "While fans would have loved to see Erling, our goal is to advance as far as possible in the tournament."

Norway will face Ivory Coast in the round of 32 on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, while France will play the same day against one of the eight best third-place teams in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Mbappe nearly scored just 21 seconds into the match, hitting the crossbar with a powerful shot after sprinting down the right flank.

Dembele's first goal came when he received a pass from Mbappe and unleashed a right-footed shot past Selvik.

For his second goal, Dembele found space among three defenders at the top of the box and fired a left-footed shot beyond Selvik's reach.

Norway had a chance to narrow the score in the 49th minute when France's Theo Hernandez was penalized for tripping Oscar Bobb in the box. However, Jorgen Strand Larsen's penalty kick was saved by French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Before the match, French fans displayed a banner reading "AVEC TOI DIDIER" (With you Didier) in tribute to coach Didier Deschamps, whose mother passed away earlier this week. Deschamps missed the match to be with family, leaving assistant Guy Stephan in charge.

Stephan confirmed that Deschamps would rejoin the team for their next training session on Saturday.