Ousmane Dembele scored a superb hat-trick in 32 minutes as France defeated a rotated Norway side to finish top of Group I at the 2026 World Cup.
Pre-match hopes that this game would be an epic showdown between Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe were quashed by the arrival of the teamsheets.
Norway manager Stale Solbakken made 10 changes after two group victories, including resting Manchester City forward Haaland, who has four goals in the tournament along with Mbappe.
But into the narrative void stepped Dembele, who delivered the second-fastest men’s World Cup hat-trick ever with three goals of the purest quality.
It was the first time a player had scored three goals in the opening half of a match in the tournament since Russia’s Oleg Salenko against Cameroon in 1994.
