Ousmane Dembélé delivered a stunning first-half hat-trick to send France past Norway 4-1 on Friday, completing a flawless FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I campaign in Boston.

With both nations already through to the round of 32, Norway made 10 changes to their starting lineup — leaving Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard as unused substitutes — and the weakened side were exposed almost immediately.

Mbappe's warning and Dembélé's demolition

Kylian Mbappe struck the crossbar inside 22 seconds, offering Norway's reserve defenders an early warning of what was to come. Dembélé needed no second invitation, finding the bottom corner in the 7th minute and repeating the feat with his left foot from the edge of the area in the 20th.

Norway responded just 79 seconds later through Thelo Aasgaard — whose mother is French — with a composed finish from the edge of the box. The brief consolation did little to change momentum, as Dembélé completed his treble in the 32nd minute with a carbon copy of his second goal. All three of his strikes exposed questionable defending from the stand-in Norwegian backline.

Penalty miss and late gloss

Norway had the chance to reduce the deficit early in the second half when Theo Hernandez carelessly tripped Oscar Bobb inside the area. Jørgen Strand Larsen stepped up, but his stuttering, weak spot kick was comfortably saved by Mike Maignan.

Oscar Bobb also went close in the 72nd minute with a one-on-one that Maignan again dealt with efficiently. France added a fourth in the 94th minute when substitute Bradley Barcola delivered a cross for Désiré Doué, who headed home his first goal of the tournament.

What comes next

France will advance to face one of the third-placed teams — most likely Sweden — on Tuesday 30 June, with kick-off at 10pm in New Jersey. Norway, meanwhile, will meet Ivory Coast in Dallas, Texas, also on Tuesday 30 June, at 6pm.