Ousmane Dembele scores a first-half hat-trick as France sails past Norway.

Ousmane Dembele netted a first-half hat-trick as France triumphed over Norway 3-1 in their concluding Group I match at the FIFA World Cup on Friday.

The winger found the net in the seventh, 20th, and 32nd minutes, with Kylian Mbappé assisting on his second goal, allowing France to establish a commanding lead before halftime.

Dembele’s hat-trick marked the first occurrence of a first-half hat-trick in a World Cup match since Russia’s Oleg Salenko achieved this against Cameroon during the 1994 tournament in the United States.
This performance also placed Dembele among a distinguished group of players who have scored three goals before halftime at the World Cup, though it did not break the fastest hat-trick records in the tournament’s history.

Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss holds the record for the quickest World Cup hat-trick, finding the net three times in just seven minutes and 42 seconds after coming off the bench against El Salvador in 1982. Austria’s Erich Probst remains the fastest player to score a hat-trick from kick-off, reaching the milestone within the first 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia in 1954.

France had already secured their place in the knockout stage prior to this match, while Norway had also qualified for the Round of 32.

This win ensured France finished the group stage positively as they pursued their second World Cup title in three tournaments, following their victory in 2018 and the runner-up finish in 2022.