Dembele scored a hat-trick as France beat Norway 4-1 at the 2026 World Cup | World Cup 2026 news

Ousmane Dembele scored one of the oldest hat-tricks in World Cup history when the Ballon d’Or winner played. France won 4-1 over the second row in Norway, where Erling Haaland watches from the bench.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembele opened the scoring in the seventh minute at the Boston Stadium on Friday, struck again in the 20th minute and, after Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back, made it 3-1 in the 32nd minute.

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The only player to have previously completed a hat-trick in a World Cup match is Erich Probst, who scored three within the first 24 minutes for Austria against Czechoslovakia in 1954.

Dembele took his tally to four goals in the competition after scoring in Iraq’s 3-0 win on Monday, and his performance here could ease the pressure on captain Kylian Mbappe to become France’s man of the match.

Desire Doue completed the scoring late on, and the win saw France finish the group stage with nine points – they have scored 10 goals in three games and progressed as Group I winners.

France will now travel to the northeast of the United States for a last-32 win against the third-place finisher at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey next Tuesday.

It was a sad day for Les Bleus, who had to play the game without coach Didier Deschamps after returning to France to attend his mother’s funeral. Deschamps, who will step down at the end of the World Cup after 14 years, will return with his team on Saturday.

Norway, who also saw Jorgen Strand Larsen have a penalty saved, moved into second place with six points, their progress having been secured before the game by defeating Iraq and Senegal.

That is why coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to his starting line-up here after the 3-2 win over Senegal last time out.

Haaland, Odegaard retired

Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and striker Alexander Sorloth were among the rested players, with Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes the only one retained.

The regulars will no doubt return in the next round, with Norway taking on the Ivory Coast in Dallas next Tuesday.

France were without Arsenal defender William Saliba as he retired with a sore back, so Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix came in to replace him. Doue, Theo Hernandez and Aurelien Tchouameni all returned.

However, Dembele and Mbappe both kept their places, with the latter winning his 101st cap and looking to add to his 16 World Cup goals and equal Lionel Messi’s record of 18 goals.

But Dembele, Mbappe’s teammate in France’s 2018 World Cup-winning team, stole the headlines with his brilliant hat-trick.

Mbappe released the 29-year-old for the early opener, as Dembele cut in from the right, dropped his shoulder and got back onto his right foot before shooting past goalkeeper Egil Selvik and slotting home.

Dembele was transformed into a Ballon d’Or winner after Luis Enrique, his coach at PSG, moved him from the wings to the main role.

But he caused chaos here coming on the right-hand side, scoring the second when he cut in and curled a low left-footed shot into the far corner.

Aasgaard, of Rangers, hit back straight from the restart with a low shot past midfielder Mike Maignan as the French defense was cleared.

But Dembele curled in his team’s third, onto his left foot and slotted home, albeit this time from inside the area.

Three goals in 25 first-half minutes is not the fastest hat-trick at a World Cup – the record is held by Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss, who needed less than eight minutes against El Salvador in 1982.

However, Dembele is now in a famous group: the only French caps that happened in this tournament were scored by Just Fontaine (twice in 1958) and Mbappe, who scored three at the end of 2022.

Norway could have hit back early in the second half when Oscar Bobb was tripped by Hernandez, but Strand Larsen’s shot was poor and Maignan saved.

Doue then led France to the fourth in stoppage time.

Hat-trick star Dembele says it’s a must-win game as France aim to finish top of the group.

“We want to win every game, and we will focus on it because the next one is very important,” he told reporters after the game.

The deputy coach of the French team, Guy Stephan, said that the team’s thoughts are with Deschamps and they are waiting for him to join the team again on Saturday.

“As for the game, we did what we had to do. There was a lot of fun in the way we played, a lot of energy and a lot of chances,” he said.

“That said, there were times when we weren’t good enough and we needed to get rid of them.”

Senegal beat 10-man Iraq 5-0 to keep their knockout hopes alive

Substitute Pape Gueye scored two impressive second-half goals from long range, and Senegal got a much-needed boost to their differential with a 5-0 win over 10-man Iraq in their first group game on Friday.

Ismaila Sarr added his third goal of the tournament, the first of four after halftime for the Lions of Teranga, who finished third and fighting for one of the eight places in the round of 32.

They currently have the best league record in third place based on their two goal difference, but the four teams below them have yet to play their last game.

Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the fourth minute when it was 11 on 11, and Iliman Ndiaye finished it off with his long effort in the 82nd minute.

Iraq was eliminated from the World Cup for the second time and for the first time since 1986.