France have won all three group games at a FIFA World Cup™ for the first time since lifting the trophy on home soil in 1998—and they did so in style thanks to a historic hat-trick by Ousmane Dembélé.

With both sides already qualified ahead of the match, the prize at stake at Boston Stadium was top spot in Group I. While much of the pre-match talk centered around a heavyweight duel between Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé, Haaland ultimately remained on the bench as Norway opted to make ten changes to their starting XI. Instead, it was Dembélé who stole the show, stamping his mark on the tournament with the second-fastest World Cup hat-trick of all time.

A Masterclass from Dembélé

With assistant coach Guy Stéphan holding the reins in the absence of Didier Deschamps, France flew out of the blocks. Mbappé came agonizingly close inside the opening minute, rattling the crossbar. Just six minutes later, Mbappé turned provider, sending a crossfield ball to Dembélé, who cut in from the right wing to flash a signature left-footed shot into the far corner for the opener.

Dembélé’s second goal in the 20th minute was even more eye-catching, as he found the exact same corner with a spectacular strike from outside the box. By the 32nd minute, the Paris Saint-Germain forward had completed his treble—the third hat-trick of this tournament—by precisely placing the ball between Norwegian goalkeeper Egil Selvik and his right-hand post.

Prior to this week, Dembélé had never scored a major international tournament goal. After finally breaking his World Cup duck against Iraq, he now sits on four goals on the global stage.

Norway Fight Back but Miss Golden Opportunity

Despite the French onslaught, it was not entirely one-way traffic. Norway’s Jørgen Strand Larsen flashed a close-range shot over the crossbar early on. Then, straight from the kickoff following France’s second goal, Thelo Aasgaard beat Dayot Upamecano with a clever dummy and drilled a clinical effort past a wrongfooted Mike Maignan to briefly bring Norway back into the contest.

Norway’s hopes of a true second-half comeback flickered again three minutes after the restart when Théo Hernandez fouled Oscar Bobb inside the area. However, Strand Larsen’s tame penalty kick was saved comfortably by Maignan, deflating the Norwegian momentum.

Knockout Matchups Confirmed

With the result firmly in hand, Désiré Doué put the icing on the cake for Les Bleus in the fourth minute of stoppage time, sliding home his first-ever goal at the global finals to make it 4-1.

As Group I winners, France move on to the Round of 32 where they will face a third-placed team from Group C, D, F, G, or H. Meanwhile, runners-up Norway will prepare for a knockout clash against Côte d’Ivoire.