Ousmane Dembele produced one of the fastest hat-tricks in FIFA World Cup history on Friday, as the Ballon d’Or winner inspired France to a commanding 4-1 victory over a heavily rotated Norway side, with Erling Haaland watching from the bench.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward opened the scoring in the seventh minute at Gillette Stadium near Boston, doubled France’s advantage in the 20th, and restored their two-goal cushion in the 32nd after Thelo Aasgaard briefly pulled Norway back into the contest.
Only Austria’s Erich Probst has completed a World Cup hat-trick earlier, scoring three goals within the opening 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia in 1954.
Dembele now has four goals at the tournament after also finding the net in France’s 3-0 victory over Iraq on Monday. His superb form also eases some of the burden on captain Kylian Mbappe, who has so often carried France’s attacking threat.
Desire Doue added a fourth in stoppage time as France completed the group stage with a perfect nine points. Les Bleus scored 10 goals across three matches to comfortably finish top of Group I.
They will remain in the northeastern United States for a Round of 32 clash against one of the best third-placed teams at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday.
It was an emotional occasion for France, who were without head coach Didier Deschamps after he returned home to attend his mother’s funeral.
Deschamps, who is set to step down after the World Cup following 14 years in charge, is expected to rejoin the squad on Saturday.
Norway, already assured of qualification after victories over Iraq and Senegal, finished second with six points despite also seeing Jorgen Strand Larsen miss a penalty.
With qualification already secured, coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to the side that defeated Senegal 3-2.
Haaland, Odegaard rested
Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and striker Alexander Sorloth were all rested, with Benfica midfielder Fredrik Aursnes the only player to retain his place in the starting lineup.
Norway’s first-choice players are expected to return for Tuesday’s Round of 32 meeting with Côte d’Ivoire in Dallas.
France were without Arsenal defender William Saliba, who was rested because of a sore back, allowing Crystal Palace centre-back Maxence Lacroix to start. Doue, Theo Hernandez and Aurelien Tchouameni also returned to the lineup.
Dembele and Mbappe both kept their places, however, with the France captain earning his 101st international cap as he continued his pursuit of Lionel Messi’s World Cup scoring record of 18 goals, having entered the match with 16.
Instead, it was Dembele who stole the spotlight.
Mbappe supplied the opener, releasing the 29-year-old down the right before Dembele cut inside, skipped past his marker and drilled a low shot across goalkeeper Egil Selvik into the far corner.
The Ballon d’Or winner, reinvented in a more central attacking role under PSG coach Luis Enrique, proved unstoppable. His second came after another trademark run inside from the right, this time curling a precise left-footed effort into the bottom corner.
Norway responded immediately as Rangers midfielder Thelo Aasgaard capitalised on a lapse in concentration from the French defence to beat Mike Maignan with a low finish.
Any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished when Dembele completed his hat-trick, once again cutting inside before bending another left-footed strike into the same corner.
Although Dembele’s three goals arrived within 25 first-half minutes, they do not constitute the fastest World Cup hat-trick. That record belongs to Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss, who scored three times in under eight minutes against El Salvador in 1982.
Dembele nevertheless joined an exclusive group of French players to score a World Cup hat-trick, following Just Fontaine, who achieved the feat twice in 1958, and Mbappe, whose treble came in the 2022 World Cup final.
Norway had a chance to reduce the deficit early in the second half after Oscar Bobb was brought down by Hernandez inside the area, but Strand Larsen’s poorly struck penalty was comfortably saved by Maignan.
Doue sealed France’s emphatic victory by heading home deep into stoppage time.
AFP
