Ousmane Dembélé scored a first-half hat-trick as France defeated Norway 4-1 in a Group I match in Boston, confirming Les Bleus’ place in the Round of 32 as group winners, according to the report.
Dembélé’s three goals arrived inside the opening 32 minutes, a haul described in the report as the second quickest World Cup hat-trick after Erich Probst’s 24-minute feat in 1954. Désiré Doué added a headed goal in second-half stoppage time to complete the scoring.
Two of Dembélé’s finishes were set up by Kylian Mbappé, and each beat Norway goalkeeper Egil Selvik, the report said. Thelo Aasgaard briefly pulled Norway to 2-1 seconds after Dembélé’s second strike, while Mike Maignan saved a Jorgen Strand Larsen penalty.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken made ten changes to his starting lineup and left Manchester City forward Erling Haaland on the bench. The report noted Solbakken also rested Antonio Nusa, Martin Odegaard and Alexander Sorloth for the fixture in Boston.
France will face a third-place qualifier in New Jersey next Tuesday, while Norway travel to Dallas to play Ivory Coast on the same day, according to the report. The coverage added that this was the third straight World Cup game in which France scored at least three goals.
