Ousmane Dembele scored a hat-trick right in the first half, helping France affirm their position as a World Cup championship contender with a 4-1 victory over Norway in Group I. The Northern European team actively let Erling Haaland rest in the confrontation in Boston.
Dembele's 3 goals in the first 32 minutes of the match, along with Desire Doue's goal in injury time in the second half, helped Les Bleus win convincingly and officially finish the group stage at the top of Group I.
Coach Stale Solbakken made up to 10 changes in Norway's starting lineup, including putting Haaland on the bench. Against a squad lacking many key players, France completely overwhelmed.
Although Thelo Aasgaard narrowed the score to 1-2 right after Dembele's second goal, Norway still could not create a surprise. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan also successfully saved Jorgen Strand Larsen's penalty.
Before the match, all attention was focused on the showdown between Kylian Mbappe and Haaland. However, Dembele was the brightest star. The reigning Ballon d'Or winner completed a hat-trick in just 32 minutes, becoming the player with the second fastest hat-trick in World Cup history, only after Erich Probst of Austria in 1954 (24 minutes). If he scores another goal, he will be the first player to score a poker at the World Cup since Oleg Salenko of Russia in 1994.
Not only scoring a hat-trick, Dembele also showed excellent finishing ability with three goals all being scored coldly against goalkeeper Egil Selvik. Two of them came from Mbappe's assists, affirming the harmony between the two stars in the French national team's attack.
Meanwhile, Solbakken's rotation decision caused much controversy. Letting Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sorloth rest made Norway almost unable to resist France. Although the Norwegian coach wanted to save energy for the round of 16, his team missed the opportunity to compete for the top spot in the group with advantages in terms of schedule and rest time.
Conversely, France continues to show an admirable squad depth when scoring at least 3 goals in all 3 group stage matches. Mbappe and Dembele both have 4 goals, while Bradley Barcola and Doue have also made their mark. Michael Olise has three assists, and Mbappe also owns three assists, showing the diverse attacking power of Les Bleus.
However, the French defense still revealed some gaps and created conditions for Norway to have many opportunities. However, with a high-performing attack, Didier Deschamps' team is still considered one of the bright candidates for the championship.
On the Norwegian side, Larsen was given the opportunity to replace Haaland in attack but did not meet expectations. This striker played lackluster and missed the best opportunity when he failed to convert a penalty against Mike Maignan. That performance further showed Haaland's great influence on the Norwegian team.
We could have played a good match today, but even if we want to win, the problem is whether we can beat France or not. Therefore, it is important to consider the current situation and our readiness for the next match.
It was an easy decision for me, as well as from physiotherapists, medical experts and some players. They all said it would be very difficult for many of them to play" - the Norwegian captain said after the match.
