A first-half treble for the ages — and a performance dedicated to an absent coach
By Norman Mwale
“His first World Cup hat-trick silenced every doubt. Tonight Ousmane was unstoppable.”
France secured top spot in World Cup Group I with a commanding 4-1 victory over Norway at Boston Stadium in Foxborough — a result built on a blistering first-half hat-trick from Ousmane Dembélé that will live long in the memory. Both sides had already qualified for the knockout stage, but Les Bleus were intent on finishing first, and they did so in devastating fashion against a heavily rotated Norway side that left Erling Haaland on the bench.
The occasion carried an emotional edge beyond the football. Head coach Didier Deschamps was absent from the touchline, having flown home to France to attend his mother’s funeral, with assistant Guy Stephan stepping in to lead the side. The squad’s response was emphatic.
The tone was set inside the opening seconds when Kylian Mbappé struck the crossbar after just 22 seconds, and it took only seven minutes for France to lead. Mbappé turned provider with a superb through ball for Ballon d’Or winner Dembélé, who cut in from the right and fired into the far corner with his left foot to make it 1-0 in the seventh minute. He doubled the advantage in the 20th with another equally precise left-foot finish into the same bottom corner, before Norway pulled one back through Thelo Aasgaard just 79 seconds later to briefly make it 2-1.
The PSG forward completed his treble in the 32nd minute with a carbon-copy third, becoming only the third French player to score a World Cup hat-trick — after Just Fontaine and Mbappé himself — and producing the second-fastest hat-trick in the tournament’s history, behind only Austria’s Erich Probst who managed the feat inside 24 minutes back in 1954. Norway’s Jørgen Strand Larsen saw a penalty saved by Mike Maignan early in the second half, and Désiré Doué headed home substitute Bradley Barcola’s cross in stoppage time to seal a 4-1 win, with Mbappé providing two assists across the evening.
Dembélé, who had gone the better part of 19 major international tournament appearances without a goal before this tournament, spoke of his pride at delivering on the biggest stage. “It feels special to score three, but the most important thing is the team performance,” he said, his tournament tally now standing at four goals. Taking charge in Deschamps’ absence, assistant coach Guy Stephan praised his players warmly: “Our thoughts are with Didier and his family. As for the game — we did what we needed to do. There was a lot of enjoyment in how we played, plenty of intensity, and we scored four goals. Ousmane got a hat-trick and Désiré scored the first headed goal of his career. We need to build on that.”
Norway, who rested Haaland and several other key players, will now face Ivory Coast in Dallas on Tuesday 30 June, while France — likely to meet Sweden — prepare for the Round of 32 with momentum, confidence, and a squad that is clearly hitting its stride at exactly the right moment.
Man of the Match: Ousmane Dembélé — goals in the 7th, 20th, and 32nd minutes to complete a historic first-half treble.
