Ousmane Dembele scored a first-half hat-trick as France hammered Norway 4-1 in their final Group I match of FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Gillette Stadium in Boston.
Updated: June 27, 2026, 8:39 AM IST
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France’s Ousmane Dembele celebrates after scoring against Norway in FIFA World Cup 2026 match. (Source: X)
Norway vs France FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I: Ousmane Dembele became just the third ever player from France to notch up a World Cup hat-trick after Just Fontaine and Kylian Mbappe as the 2018 World Cup winners hammered a second-string Norway side 4-1 to top Group I at the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the Gillette Stadium in Boston on Friday. Dembele became the first footballer to score a hat-trick in the first half of the World Cup game in 32 years years after the 1994 edition.
Dembele’s goals came in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes and was the first first-half hat-trick at the World Cup since Russian striker Oleg Salenko scored three of his five goals against Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
“It is a unique moment. But the most important was to finish first of the group in the group stage, and we are focused on the round of 32, which is the most important,” Dembele was quoted as saying by AP news agency.
WATCH Ousmane Dembele score against Norway HERE…
OUSMANE DEMBÉLÉ MAKES IT TWO FOR FRANCE! WHAT A FINISH!
France take complete control with a sensational strike from Dembélé. Pure quality from the French winger. ⚽
Norway 0-2 France pic.twitter.com/34B7i6SOKX
— SAMMY (@SamuelNoah95132) June 26, 2026
France, who won the World Cup in 2018 and lost in the final four years ago to Argentina, had already secured their place in the knockout round before Friday’s match. Norway was also assured of a spot in the round of 32 and ended up in second place in the group.
Kylian Mbappe’s France will now take on Sweden at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday while Erling Haaland’s Norway will be up against Ivory Coast in a Round of 32 clash on Tuesday at the AT & T Stadium in Dallas.
Desire Doue scored France’s fourth and final goal in second-half injury time. The Barcelona star striker said changing their approach in the final group match was never a consideration for the French. Mbappe-led France have already notched up 10 goals through three games.
The fastest World Cup hat-trick had taken only 7 minutes, 42 seconds with Hungary striker Laszlo Kiss holding the record against El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. While, the quickest World Cup hat-trick from the start of the match occurred at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland when Austrian striker Erich Probst scored his three goals in the opening 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia.
Dembele, who won Ballon d’Or as Europe’s top player in 2025 and has now scored four goals at this year’s World Cup, was substituted in the 65th minute of the game and replaced by Bradley Barcola.
Thelo Aasgaard got Norway on the scoreboard after Dembele’s second goal, finding the back of the net only 14 seconds after the restart. But Dembele completed his hat-trick less than nine minutes later to push the lead back up to two.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was among 10 regular starters missing from Norway’s starting lineup. The wholesale changes included Egil Selvik starting in goal in place of Orjan Nyland.
“The break that we had from the last game to this game was the shortest of any team. … So it’s a no-brainer. The fans around Norway and also in the arena would have like to see Erling. But that is not really the issue. We want to proceed as long as we can in the tournament,” Norway coach Stale Solbakken was quoted as saying by AP news agency.
