France winger Ousmane Dembele produced a stunning firstâhalf hatâtrick inside just 32 minutes as Les Bleus thrashed Norway 4â1 to seal top spot in Group I at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
His rapid treble is the second earliest a player has scored three goals in a World Cup match, behind only Erich Probst of Austria, who netted in the 4th, 21st and 24th minutes against Czechoslovakia in 1954.
Dembele opened the scoring in the 7th minute after latching onto a diagonal ball from Kylian Mbappe, beating two defenders on the dribble before firing home. He doubled the lead in the 20th minute with a similar run, cutting inside from the right and unleashing a leftâfooted strike. He completed his hatâtrick in the 32nd minute, again with his left foot, after an overlapping run from Michael Olise created space for him in the penalty area.
Norway pulled one back through Thelo Aasgaard, but Desire Doue added a fourth for France in stoppage time.
He also became the first player to score a firstâhalf hatâtrick at the World Cup since Oleg Salenko did so for Russia against Cameroon in 1994.
France, who are without head coach Didier Deschamps as he returned home for his mother’s funeral, will now face Sweden in the Round of 32.
Dembele, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, has now scored four goals in the tournament and will be aiming to add more as France chase a third World Cup title.
