Ousmane Dembele hit a first-half hat-trick as France defeated Norway 4-1 at the Boston Stadium on Friday night to finish top of Group I.
Les Bleus – and Dembele in particular – were sensational in the first half, but took their foot off the throttle after the break and needed goalkeeper Mike Maignan to make some key saves to prevent a comeback from the Vikings.
Norway, who rested key players such as Erling Haaland, Alexander Sorloth and Martin Odegaard, finished in second place, with Senegal third and Iraq fourth (The Teranga Lions thumped 10-man Iraq 5-0 in a concurrent game in Toronto).
France were on the front foot literally from the opening seconds of the game, with Kylian Mbappe hitting the woodwork with a rasping drive from the right of the penalty area well inside the opening minute.
The double World Champions only had to wait until the seventh minute to claim the lead, with Ousmane Dembele twisting and turning inside the penalty area before whipping a shot beyond goalkeeper Egil Selvik for 1-0.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker doubled his goal tally, and his side’s lead, in the 20th minute, curling home a superb shot on the left foot after a sweeping counter attack from Les Bleus.
Norway responded with a goal immediately, advancing forward from the kick-off to set up Thelo Aasgaard, who opened up space to shoot with a clever dummy before firing a low drive into the bottom corner of the net for 2-1.
However, France restored a two-goal advantage just past the half-hour mark with another goal by Dembele. The reigning Ballon d’Or winner completed his hat-trick with a superbly-executed effort, working into space in the penalty area before firing a left-footed shot beyond Selvik’s right hand.
It was the first first-half hat-trick in the World Cup since Oleg Solenko in 1994 – a tournament also held in North America.
Norway made a double change at the start of the second half – introducing Marcus Pedersen and Morten Thorsby – and soon earned a penalty, with Oscar Bobb drawing a clumsy foul from Theo Hernandez.
However, Jorgen Strand Larsen’s effort from the spot was well saved by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, preserving the two-goal lead.
And Maignan made another fine save in the 72nd minute, keeping out a shot from Bobb as the Vikings tore through France’s defence on a swift counter attack.
Les Bleus added a fourth goal in injury time, with Desire Doue heading home from Bradley Barcola’s cross to put an exclamation point on his team’s group stage campaign.
In the next round, France will face a to-be-determined opponent in New Jersey on the evening (23:00 CAT) of Tuesday 30 June, while Norway will battle Ivory Coast in Dallas earlier the same day (19:00 CAT).
Norway (1) 1 (T. Aasgaard 21’)
France (3) 4 (O. Dembele 7’ 20’ 32’, D. Doue 90+4’)
Norway: E. Selvik, F. Aursnes, H. Falchener (S. Langas 67’), L. Ostigard, F. Bjorkan (M. Pedersen 46’), K. Thorstvedt (M. Thorsby 46’), P. Berg, T. Aasgaard, O. Bobb (A. Nusa 83’), J. Larsen, A. Schjelderup (J. Hauge 83’)
France: M. Maignan, J. Kounde (M. Gusto 87’), D. Upamecano (I. Konate 76’), M. Lacroix, T. Hernandez, A. Tchouameni, M. Kone, O. Dembele (B. Barcola 65’), M. Olise (R. Cherki 65’), D. Doue, K. Mbappe (J. Mateta 87’)
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