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FIFA World Cup 2026: Ousmane Dembele dazzles with first-half hat-trick as France beat Norway 4-1
Ousmane Dembele destroyed Norway's defence in the first-half with a sensational hat-trick as France clinched a 4-1 victory.
Ousmane Dembele was in hot form as the PSG star scored a sensational first-half hat-trick in France's 4-1 win in their final Group I FIFA World Cup fixture vs Norway. The Frenchman's goals came in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes.
It was also the first first-half hat-trick in World Cup history since Russia's Oleg Salenko bagged three of his five goals in the first half against Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup.
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Meanwhile, Desire Doue scored France's fourth goal in second-half added time. Thelo Aasgaard scored for Norway in the first half. Strand Larsen could have scored a goal early in the second-half when Norway were trailing 1-3. After Oscar Bobb was fouled in the box, Strand Larsen stepped up to take the penalty. But it was saved by Mike Maignan.
Kylian Mbappe also almost came close to scoring, hitting the crossbar with a thunderous drive. France will not know their Round of 32 opponents until Saturday, when all group matches are completed but are likely to face Sweden, while Norway will take on Ivory Coast in the knockout stage in Dallas on June 30.
The fastest World Cup hat trick took only 7 minutes, 42 seconds. Hungary striker Laszlo Kiss, who had come on as a substitute, managed that feat late in the match against El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
The quickest World Cup hat trick from the start of the match occurred at the 1954 tournament in Switzerland when Austria striker Erich Probst scored his three goals in the opening 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia.
It was an entertaining encounter, despite Norway making 10 changes, including the benching of Erling Haaland as Stale Solbakken looked to rest his key players.
Despite Norway rotating 10 players, it looked like the key members were in agreement, as they seemed in good spirits on the bench. But it also saw their defence get exposed, with Dembele exploiting those spaces with ease.
