Dembele scores hat-trick as France beat Norway 4-1 at World Cup 2026

Ousmane Dembele scored 1 of the earliest hat-tricks successful World Cup past arsenic the Ballon d’Or victor starred successful France’s 4-1 win implicit a second-string Norway, portion Erling Haaland watched connected from the bench.

Paris Saint-Germain guardant Dembele opened the scoring successful the seventh infinitesimal astatine Boston Stadium connected Friday, struck again connected 20 minutes, and aft Thelo Aasgaard had pulled 1 back, helium made it 3-1 successful the 32nd minute.

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The lone subordinate to implicit a hat-trick earlier successful a World Cup lucifer is Erich Probst, who got 3 wrong the archetypal 24 minutes for Austria against Czechoslovakia successful 1954.

Dembele moves connected to 4 goals successful the tourney aft besides scoring successful the 3-0 triumph implicit Iraq connected Monday, and his show present volition possibly easiness immoderate of the unit connected skipper Kylian Mbappe to ever beryllium France’s match-winner.

Desire Doue completed the scoring precocious on, and the triumph allowed France to extremity the radical signifier with the maximum 9 points – they person scored 10 goals successful 3 games and beforehand arsenic Group I winners.

France volition present enactment successful the northeastern United States for a last-32 necktie against a third-place finisher astatine MetLife Stadium successful New Jersey adjacent Tuesday.

It was an emotionally charged time for Les Bleus, who had to play this lucifer without manager Didier Deschamps aft helium returned to France to be his mother’s funeral. Deschamps, who volition measurement down astatine the extremity of the World Cup aft 14 years successful charge, is owed backmost with his squad connected Saturday.

Norway, who besides saw Jorgen Strand Larsen person a punishment saved, spell done successful 2nd spot with six points, their advancement already having been secured earlier this crippled acknowledgment to wins implicit Iraq and Senegal.

That explains wherefore manager Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to his starting lineup present pursuing the 3-2 triumph implicit Senegal past clip out.

Haaland, Odegaard rested

Haaland, skipper Martin Odegaard and striker Alexander Sorloth were among the players rested, with Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes the lone 1 retained.

The regulars volition undoubtedly instrumentality successful the adjacent round, and Norway volition instrumentality connected Ivory Coast successful Dallas adjacent Tuesday.

France were without Arsenal defender William Saliba arsenic helium rested a sore back, truthful Maxence Lacroix of Crystal Palace replaced him. Doue, Theo Hernandez and Aurelien Tchouameni each returned.

However, Dembele and Mbappe some kept their places, with the second winning his 101st headdress and looking to adhd to his 16 World Cup goals and drawback up with Lionel Messi’s wide tourney grounds of 18.

But Dembele, a teammate of Mbappe’s successful the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup, stole the headlines with his superb hat-trick.

Mbappe released the 29-year-old for the aboriginal opener, arsenic Dembele chopped successful from the right, dropped a enarthrosis and went backmost onto his close ft earlier firing crossed goalkeeper Egil Selvik and in.

Dembele was transformed into a Ballon d’Or victor aft Luis Enrique, his manager astatine PSG, moved him from the helping into a cardinal role.

But helium caused havoc here, coming successful from the close flank, scoring his 2nd arsenic helium chopped infield and curled a debased changeable connected his near ft into the acold corner.

Aasgaard, of Rangers, pulled 1 backmost consecutive from the restart with a debased onslaught past goalkeeper Mike Maignan, with the French defence having switched off.

But Dembele curled successful his team’s third, again connected his near ft and into the aforesaid bottommost corner, albeit this clip from wrong the area.

Three goals successful the abstraction of 25 first-half minutes is not the fastest hat-trick astatine a World Cup – that grounds is held by Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss, who needed little than 8 minutes against El Salvador successful 1982.

However, Dembele is present successful illustrious company: the lone erstwhile French hat-tricks astatine the tourney were scored by Just Fontaine (twice successful 1958) and Mbappe, who netted 3 successful the 2022 final.

Norway could person pulled 1 backmost aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional aft Oscar Bobb was tripped successful the country by Hernandez, but Strand Larsen’s spot-kick was mediocre and Maignan saved.

Doue past headed successful France’s 4th successful stoppage time.

The hat-trick hero, Dembele, said it was an important lucifer to triumph due to the fact that France wanted to decorativeness apical successful the group.

“We privation to triumph each match, and we’ll support our absorption due to the fact that what’s coming adjacent is adjacent much important,” helium told reporters aft the game.

France’s adjunct manager Guy Stephan said the team’s thoughts were with Deschamps, and they were looking guardant to him rejoining the squad connected Saturday.

“As for the game, we did what we needed to do. There was a batch of enjoyment successful the mode we played, plentifulness of strength and plentifulness of chances,” helium said.

“That said, determination were besides moments erstwhile we weren’t rather astatine our champion and we request to robust those out.”

Senegal thrash 10-man Iraq 5-0 to support knockout hopes alive

Substitute Pape Gueye scored a brace ‌of sensational second-half goals from agelong range, and Senegal got a much-needed ⁠boost for their ⁠goal differential with a 5-0 triumph implicit 10-man Iraq successful their Group I finale connected Friday.

Ismaila Sarr added his 3rd extremity of the tournament, ⁠the archetypal of 4 aft half-time for the Lions of Teranga, who sealed a third-place radical decorativeness and are vying for 1 of the 8 third-place ⁠spots successful the circular of 32.

They presently clasp the fifth-best grounds of third-place sides based connected their plus-2 extremity differential, but 4 of the squads beneath them person yet to play their last radical matches.

Habib Diarra opened the scoring successful the 4th infinitesimal portion it ‌was inactive 11 connected 11, and Iliman Ndiaye wrapped it up with his ain long-range effort successful the 82nd minute.

Iraq were eliminated from their 2nd World Cup and archetypal since 1986.