Ousmane Dembele scored a hat-trick for France as they defeated Norway 4-1 in their opening World Cup match. The Ballon d’Or winner opened the scoring in the seventh minute and added two more before halftime, making it 3-1 by the 32nd minute.
Dembele’s achievement surpasses Erich Probst’s record of three goals scored within the first 24 minutes for Austria against Czechoslovakia back in 1954. This is Dembele’s fourth goal at the tournament and moves him closer to matching Kylian Mbappe’s World Cup record of 18 goals.
Desire Doue completed the scoring late on, securing France’s victory with a maximum nine points from their group stage matches. The team will face a third-place finisher in New Jersey next Tuesday.
Norway finished second in the group stage with six points after winning against Iraq and Senegal. Coach Stale Solbakken rested most of his players for this match, including captain Martin Odegaard and striker Alexander Sorloth.
France’s Arsenal defender William Saliba was also absent due to a sore back, resulting in Maxence Lacroix replacing him. Despite the absence of some key players, Dembele and Mbappe both started the game, with the latter winning his 101st cap.