FIFA World Cup, Ousmane Dembele's hat-trick floors 2nd-string Norway: Stats
What's the story
Ousmane Dembele's first-half hat-trick helped France secure a dominant 4-1 victory over a 2nd-string Norway side in their final Group I match of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The match was played at Boston's stadium. Despite both teams already qualifying for the knockout stage, Norway made 10 changes to their lineup, leaving star players Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard on the bench.
Match highlights
Three goals for Dembele in 1st half
The match started with Kylian Mbappe hitting the bar within 22 seconds, warning Norway's backup defenders. Dembele then scored his first goal in the seventh minute and doubled his tally in the 20th minute, both times finding the same bottom corner. It was Mbappe, who assisted Dembele's goals. Just over a minute after Dembele's second goal, Norway pulled one back through Thelo Aasgaard from outside the box. However, Dembele completed his hat-trick by scoring again in similar fashion to his second goal.
Missed opportunities
Desire Doue scores for France
Norway were awarded a penalty after Oscar Bobb was fouled by Theo Hernandez but Jorgen Strand Larsen's weak spot kick was saved by Mike Maignan. Bobb then had another chance to score but his one-on-one attempt was also saved by Maignan. In added time, Desire Doue scored his first goal of the tournament from a cross by substitute Bradley Barcola.
Upcoming matches
What next for the two teams?
France will face one of the third-placed teams, most likely Sweden, in the round of 32 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Norway will take on Ivory Coast on the same day in Dallas, Texas. The result of this match confirms France's place at the top of Group I with a perfect record. France overcame Senegal 3-1, Iraq 3-0 and now Norway 4-1. Didier Deschamp's men have scored 10 goals in the ongoing tournament.
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Maignan enters record books
As per Opta, Maignan becane the second France goalkeeper to save a penalty in the FIFA World Cup (excluding shootouts), after Joel Bats against Zico in the 1986 quarter-final against Brazil.
Dembele
Dembele becomes 3rd Frenchman with a World Cup hat-trick
Dembele became just the 3rd Frenchman to score a FIFA World Cup hat-trick. He joined Just Fontaine vs Luxembourg in 1958 and Fontaine once again versus Germany in 1958 (quadruple). Mbappe is the other player with a hat-trick versus Argentina in the 2022 edition. As per Opta, Dembele's hat-trick goal was the first in this ongoing World Cup to see all 11 players involved in the move.
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11 international goals for Dembele; 4 in the ongoing WC
Playing his 62nd match for France, PSG's Dembele now owns 11 international goals. He netted his maiden hat-trick for France. Meanwhile, Dembele has raced to 4 goals in the ongoing World Cup.
Information
France attain these World Cup feats
France have now topped their group at every World Cup tournament under Deschamps (2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026). As per Squawka, France also won all three of their group stage games at the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
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Here are the match stats
France had 9 shots on target from 18 attempts. Norway managed 10 attempts and had 4 shots on target. In terms of touches in the opposition box, France edged past Norway 27-25. France completed 477 passes and had 57.10% ball possession.