France produced a commanding display to defeat Norway 4-1 at Boston Stadium on Wednesday, with Ousmane Dembele scoring the first 2026 FIFA World Cup hat trick of his career to seal top spot in Group I.
The victory completed a perfect group stage for Didier Deschamps’ side, who won all three matches to finish first. France have now achieved a 100 percent group stage record for only the second time in their World Cup history, matching their feat from the 1998 tournament, which they went on to win.
Norway entered the match with a heavily rotated lineup after head coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes from the side that defeated Senegal. Only Fredrik Aursnes retained his place, while Erling Haaland started on the bench. The changes made Norway just the fourth team to alter 10 or more players in the same World Cup edition. France also made four changes, while Kylian Mbappe marked his 15th World Cup start at just 27 years and 188 days, becoming the youngest player to reach that milestone.
France nearly made the perfect start inside the opening minute. Mbappe raced through on goal and smashed a powerful effort against the underside of the crossbar, with goalkeeper Selvik appearing to get the slightest touch.
The pressure continued moments later as Selvik denied Manu Kone from close range before comfortably gathering a tame effort from Desire Doue after a short corner routine.
France finally broke through in the seventh minute. Mbappe switched play brilliantly to Dembele, who drove into the box, skipped past two defenders and fired a superb right footed finish across Selvik into the bottom corner for 1-0.
Norway almost responded in the 14th minute. Patrick Berg delivered a dangerous free kick before Aursnes recycled possession and found Jorgen Strand Larsen with an excellent cross. However, the striker controlled brilliantly before blazing his effort wide when he should have at least tested Mike Maignan.
Mbappe remained a constant threat and forced another smart save from Selvik in the 18th minute after cutting inside from the left and drilling a low shot toward goal.
France doubled their advantage just two minutes later. Mbappe battled through a shirt pull from Leo Ostigard before releasing Dembele. The Paris Saint-Germain winger cut inside once again and curled a magnificent strike from 20 yards into the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
Norway hit back immediately from the restart. The visitors worked the ball neatly down the left before Andreas Schjelderup picked out Thelo Aasgaard, who shifted onto his right foot and calmly slotted past Maignan to reduce the deficit to 2-1. The goal also made Aasgaard the first Rangers player to score at a World Cup since Brian Laudrup for Denmark in 1998.
France quickly regained complete control. In the 32nd minute, Aurelien Tchouameni threaded another precise pass into Dembele. The winger toyed with the Norwegian defence before bending another superb finish into the bottom corner to complete a stunning 32 minute hat trick. It became the second earliest World Cup hat trick in history, behind Austria’s Erich Probst, who achieved the feat after 24 minutes in 1954.
France took a deserved 3-1 lead into half time after an outstanding attacking display, with Dembele stealing the show through a remarkable first half treble.
Norway received a lifeline early in the second half when they won a penalty in the 48th minute. Oscar Bobb skipped past Theo Hernandez before the French defender clipped him inside the area, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
However, Strand Larsen wasted the opportunity two minutes later. His tame penalty lacked both power and placement, allowing Maignan to dive comfortably to his left and make the save. The stop ended a 40 year wait for a French goalkeeper to save a World Cup penalty in normal play, with Joel Bats the last to do so against Brazil in 1986.
Norway continued to search for another goal but struggled to create clear chances. Their best second half opening came in the 72nd minute when Aasgaard slipped Bobb through on goal. The forward hesitated before shooting straight at Maignan, allowing France to preserve their comfortable lead.
France completed the scoring deep into stoppage time. Bradley Barcola delivered an excellent cross from the left and fellow Paris Saint-Germain teammate Desire Doue guided a composed header into the top corner to wrap up an emphatic 4-1 victory.
France always looked in control after Norway’s decision to rotate heavily. Dembele’s clinical first half hat trick proved the difference before Doue added the finishing touch in injury time.
The result sends France into the knockout stage as Group I winners with three victories from three matches. After producing one of the most convincing performances of the tournament so far, Les Bleus have firmly established themselves among the leading contenders for the 2026 FIFA World Cup title.
