Norway 1–4 France: Dembélé hat-trick seals perfect group stage for Les Bleus
Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat-trick — described as the second-fastest in World Cup history — to lead France to a commanding 4–1 victory over a rotated Norway side at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. France won all three group-stage matches to top Group I, with Désiré Doué adding a late fourth in stoppage time.
Kylian Mbappé struck the crossbar within the opening seconds to signal France's intent, and Dembélé opened the scoring on 7 minutes, assisted by Mbappé. Norway — who rested Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard and started Egil Selvik in goal — pulled one back immediately through Thelo Aasgaard in the 21st minute to briefly make it 2–1, but Dembélé completed his hat-trick on 32 minutes to restore the two-goal cushion and send France in 3–1 up at the break.
Norway were awarded a penalty in the second half but Jørgen Strand Larsen's spot kick was poorly struck and easily saved by Mike Maignan. The result was never in doubt thereafter. Désiré Doué headed in a fourth deep in stoppage time to seal an emphatic scoreline. France became only the second side in their history to win all three group-stage matches at a World Cup.
Key moments
- •Ousmane Dembélé scored a first-half hat-trick — only the second-fastest in World Cup history — to put France in complete control
- •Kylian Mbappé struck the crossbar in the opening seconds before assisting Dembélé's first goal
- •Thelo Aasgaard gave Norway hope with a 21st-minute reply to make it briefly 2–1, but Dembélé restored France's two-goal lead within minutes
- •Mike Maignan saved Jørgen Strand Larsen's second-half penalty to deny Norway a comeback
- •Désiré Doué headed in in stoppage time; France won all three group games for only the second time in their history
Timeline
Match facts
- Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
- 64,146 attendance
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- Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
Match report generated from publicly available sources. Facts are drawn from the sources below.