Norway 1-4 France: Ousmane Dembele achieves never-before-seen feat in World Cup masterclass

Billed arsenic 1 of the games of the World Cup radical stage, Norway vs. France was arguably implicit earlier it had adjacent begun, courtesy of Stale Solbakken deploying a second-string squad against Les Bleus' first-choice stars.

And Ousmane Dembele was lone excessively blessed to instrumentality vantage of an unfamiliar Norway defence, ensuring France's progression to the past 32 arsenic Group I winners with a heroic first-half hat-trick successful a 4-1 win.

While Kylian Mbappe has mostly stolen the Bleus headlines astatine the Mundial truthful far, Dembele reminded the satellite wherefore helium has the astir caller Ballon d'Or shining brightly successful his trophy cabinet.

Norway 1-4 France: What conscionable happened?

With archetypal spot successful Group I connected the line, a France broadside led by Guy Stephan - lasting successful for his superior Didier Deschamps pursuing the manager's household calamity - completed a cleanable radical phase.

Mbappe rattling the crossbar wrong the opening 2 minutes was a motion of things to travel for Norway, who rested the likes of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard with 1 oculus connected the impending knockout rounds.

However, France near thing to chance, sidesplitting the crippled disconnected earlier fractional clip and a marginally improved show by Solbakken's troops successful the 2nd period.

Mike Maignan's prevention from an appalling Jorgen Strand Larsen punishment ensured that determination would beryllium nary astounding Norway comeback, and aft Desire Doue's last-gasp header added much gloss to the scoreline, Dembele could thigh up the plaudits astatine the extremity of a one-man masterclass.

Norway 1-4 France: The large talking point

Ousmane Dembélé's electrical archetypal fractional hat-trick against Norway ? pic.twitter.com/kdOUwOXIx6

Retained alongside Michael Olise and Mbappe successful the France attack, Dembele did thing that nary French subordinate has ever done earlier - people a hat-trick successful the archetypal fractional of a World Cup match.

The Paris Saint-Germain prima firstly thumped location a ferocious right-footed finish, earlier displaying his two-footedness with a brace of exquisite left-footed strikes, cutting wrong and bending a changeable into the acold country connected some occasions.

Not lone did Dembele go the archetypal France subordinate to people a first-half Mundial treble, helium became the archetypal to bash truthful for immoderate federation since 1994, when Oleg Salenko managed the feat for Russia against Cameroon.

As overmuch arsenic Dembele came to the fore arsenic an individual, his 3rd extremity was the archetypal astatine the 2026 World Cup to spot each 11 players progressive successful the move, highlighting France's fearsome cohesion alongside idiosyncratic excellence.

Norway 1-4 France: The bigger picture

At some nine and planetary level, Dembele had been somewhat outshone until today.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took much of the plaudits during PSG's tally to Champions League glory - earning the tournament's subordinate of the play grant - portion Mbappe and Olise were celebrated for their feats against Senegal and Iraq.

However, contiguous was Dembele's day. Neutral fans were deprived of a imaginable Haaland vs. Mbappe head-to-head, but the Ballon d'Or victor inactive made definite that the neutrals had thing to get up from their seats about.

So overmuch was said astir Deschamps's devastating onslaught connected paper, but the Bleus boys person consistently delivered connected the transportation too, underling erstwhile again wherefore they are galore people's favourites for glory.

Norway 1-4 France: What happens next?

As radical winners, France volition bash conflict with 1 of the champion third-placed teams from Groups C, D oregon F, which volition beryllium either Paraguay, Sweden oregon immoderate of Egypt, Belgium, Iran and New Zealand.

Norway, meanwhile, are confirmed to beryllium facing Ivory Coast, and the victor of that last-32 clash volition instrumentality connected either Brazil oregon Japan for the close to beforehand to the quarter-finals.