Current Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele put on a breathtaking first-half masterclass, scoring a sensational hat-trick to lead France to a convincing 4-1 win over Norway at Gillette Stadium on Friday. With this dominant victory, Les Bleus maintained their perfect record at the top of Group I, while Norway advanced to the round of 16 as group runners-up.The match started in a fierce rhythm, with the French captain Kylian Mbappe rattling the crossbar just 21 seconds into the game after an explosive sprint down the right wing. France did not have to wait long for a turnaround, as Dembélé opened the scoring in the seventh minute, latching on to a precise pass from Mbappé and firing a right-footed shot past Norwegian goalkeeper Egil Selvik.Dembélé doubled the lead in the 20th minute, weaving between three defenders on the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a brilliant left-footed drive. In a fantastic response, Norway hit back just 14 seconds into the restart when midfielder Thelo Aasgaard hit the back of the net to make it 2-1. However, Dembélé crushed Norway’s brief revival in the 32nd minute, clawing back a two-goal deficit and completing the first first-half World Cup hat-trick since Russia’s Oleg Salenko in 1994.Norway rested ten regular starters for this match, primarily leaving talismanic striker Erling Haaland on the bench for the entire ninety minutes to save him for the knockouts. Selvik started in goal in place of Orjan Nyland as part of major changes.Despite the structural changes, Norway earned a big save in the 49th minute when Theo Hernandez tripped Oscar Bobb in the penalty area. However, Jorgen Strand Larsen’s penalty was expertly saved by Mike Maignan. Young Bobb remained a constant threat in the second half, but a solid French defense held firm.Dembélé left the field to a standing ovation in the 65th minute and was replaced by Bradley Barcola. Paris Saint-Germain’s substitutes combined nicely in second-half stoppage-time, with Barcola providing Desire Doue, who scored France’s final goal to cap off a historic evening in Foxborough.
