Pause the frame and count the red jerseys. It looks eerily similar. A dribbler revving his engines, believing he can overcome the odds. A startled defensive wall attempting to thwart by rule of sheer numbers.It is not the iconic photo of Diego Maradona facing up to Belgium in the 1982 World Cup. It is Ousmane Dembele walking the tightrope against Norway in 2026, for the third time in half an hour.There is an important distinction between both moments. The Maradona still, although transportive, is an illusion. He was not actually the bull confronting the matadors. Zoom out and the truth is that he was actually receiving a square pass from a free-kick, some way from goal. The six men are simply reacting to the unexpected.In Boston, 44 years later, the swarm of bodies around him are reacting to the expected: Dembele at the left corner of the penalty area, creeping and twisting his way towards goal.By this point, in the 32nd minute, Dembele’s methods were known, having rifled one in with his right foot and delicately passed another one into the same corner.Maradona surrounded by Belgium players at the 1982 World Cup (Steve Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)Dembele celebrates a goal for France on Friday (Steph Chambers — FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)Stop. Feint. Unbalance. Go. Repeat. Again and again, until the defender finally takes the bait. Try as they did to resist, Norway bit again. This time, four defenders from Norway were unable to prevent him creating a clear sight of goal. The Frenchman nonchalantly curled the ball into the far corner for the third time.This was not a perfect hat-trick in the sense of right-foot, left-foot, header. But it was perfect in the sense of a player reaching a level of technical mastery which allows him to gently pass the ball towards the target without seemingly applying any force.Each time, the conditions became more difficult. The space tightened, the speed at which he arrived at the defender slowed, and the number of bodies swarmed around him multiplied.The first: seven touches, two momentum shifts, four seconds to release. The second: five touches, one momentum shift, three seconds. The third: five touches, four momentum shifts, three seconds. The result was the same.A Monet with his right, then two replicas with his left, all in the opening 32 minutes. It was brutalist and beautiful. Ultra-quick processing in slow-mo form.It was not what the sell-out crowd in Foxboro had come in their droves to see. That was Mbappe vs Haaland, the battle of the two bludgeoning gladiators at either end of the pitch. Stale Solbakken killed that show, keeping Haaland on the bench for the entire game.Winner Stays On: De Bruyne vs Premier League LegendsReuben Pinder and Joe CrisalliIn its place, they witnessed a one-man show on a patch of grass no wider than 20 square feet. It was an exhibition of two-footed efficiency. The second-quickest hat-trick in World Cup history. Perhaps the most similar hat-trick ever scored. The only other one to rival it is Gareth Bale against Inter Milan at the San Siro in 2010.