Ousmane Dembele has scored a first-half hat-trick to put France 3-1 up against Norway at half-time in their Group I finale at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, with both sides already assured of their place in the round of 32.
All three goals came inside 32 minutes and were finished with clinical precision. Opta’s live data put the combined expected goals value of his three shots at just 0.13, making the hat-trick one of the most ruthless seen at this tournament. The second, a low drive from distance that left goalkeeper Selvik with no chance, was the pick of the bunch.
Norway pulled one back through Thelo Aasgaard, the Rangers midfielder receiving the ball on the edge of the box, letting it run across his body to send his marker the wrong way, before finishing composedly past Mike Maignan. It came straight from the restart after Dembele’s second, with just 79 seconds separating the two goals.
Norway head coach Stale Solbakken had flagged rotation ahead of the game, and he delivered on his word, making 10 changes from the side that beat Senegal. Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard were both named among the substitutes, with Solbakken making clear he had the round of 32 in mind. “We have to be smart rather than greedy,” he said on the eve of the match.
France, by contrast, named a strong side. Desire Doue and Aurelien Tchouameni returned to the starting eleven, with the front four of Dembele, Michael Olise, Doue and Kylian Mbappe offering a full range of attacking options. Mbappe himself came within inches of scoring inside the first 30 seconds, rattling a shot against the underside of the bar before the game had barely begun.
The absence of Haaland was felt. Jorgen Strand Larsen, leading the line in his place, spurned Norway’s best chance of the half, failing to get his shot on target after a promising opening inside the box. With Haaland on the pitch, that moment might have looked very different.
France were also without their head coach, with Didier Deschamps returning to France following the death of his mother. Assistant Guy Stephan took charge of the team at the touchline. France’s request to wear black armbands in his mother’s honour was declined by FIFA, though a minute’s silence was observed before kick-off for the victims of the Venezuelan earthquake, with Norway presenting a bouquet of flowers to the French squad in a gesture of condolence.
The result, as it stands, confirms France as Group I winners. A win or draw in the second half will see them finish top and face a third-placed side in the round of 32, with a potential last-16 clash against Germany in Philadelphia on 4 July looming on the horizon. Norway, as runners-up, would face the second-placed team from Group E, most likely Ivory Coast in Dallas.
