Ousmane Dembele scored a sensational first-half hat-trick and Desire Doue added a late header as France beat Norway 4-1 to finish top of Group I at the 2026 World Cup, with a second-string Norwegian side paying the price for a bold rotation gamble.
All three of Dembele’s goals arrived inside 32 minutes and were finished with extraordinary precision. Opta’s data put the combined expected goals value of his three shots at just 0.19, the second-lowest xG return for a hat-trick in World Cup history since 1966, behind only Laszlo Kiss’s treble for Hungary against El Salvador in 1982. The second goal, a low drive from distance that left goalkeeper Selvik helpless, was the pick of the three.
Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back for Norway straight from the restart after Dembele’s second, with just 79 seconds separating the two goals. The Rangers midfielder received the ball on the edge of the box, let it run across his body to send his marker the wrong way, and finished composedly past Mike Maignan.
Norway were awarded a penalty early in the second half when Lucas Hernandez brought down Oscar Bobb inside the box. But Jorgen Strand Larsen’s effort was tame and too close to Maignan, who dived to his left to make a comfortable save. It was a costly miss and effectively ended Norway’s hopes of making a contest of it.
Doue wrapped up the result in the fourth minute of added time, directing a well-taken header from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s cross beyond Selvik to complete a thoroughly convincing evening for the French.
Norway head coach Stale Solbakken had been explicit about his intentions ahead of the game. “We have to be smart rather than greedy,” he said on the eve of the match, and he made 10 changes from the side that beat Senegal, resting Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard and several other key players with the knockouts in mind. Strand Larsen led the line in Haaland’s absence but struggled to make an impact, spurning chances in both halves. Haaland watched from the bench throughout, with chants of his name echoing around Gillette Stadium as the game wore on.
France, by contrast, named a strong starting eleven. Dembele, Olise, Doue and Kylian Mbappe formed a front four full of pace and movement, and they were given licence to express themselves against a depleted Norway side with nothing riding on the result. Mbappe came within inches of scoring inside the opening 30 seconds, rattling a shot against the underside of the bar before the game had barely begun. He was denied again later by Selvik and fired over from distance in the second half before being substituted in the 87th minute.
The win means France have scored nine goals in three group games, their highest ever tally in a World Cup group stage under Didier Deschamps, and they complete the group phase with a perfect record. France were also without Deschamps himself on the touchline, with the head coach returning home following the death of his mother. Assistant Guy Stephan oversaw proceedings in his absence. France’s request to wear black armbands in honour of Deschamps’s mother was declined by FIFA, though a minute’s silence was held before kick-off for the victims of the Venezuelan earthquake, with Norway presenting a bouquet of flowers to the French squad before the game.
France now face Sweden in the round of 32, with a potential last-16 meeting against Germany in Philadelphia on 4 July on the horizon if both sides progress. Norway, finishing as runners-up, will face Ivory Coast in Dallas, with a possible path towards Brazil should they advance.
