Dembélé hits a hat-trick as France beat Norway 4-1 to finish the group with a perfect record
An Ousmane Dembélé hat-trick and a late Désiré Doué strike led France, who topped Group I with a perfect record despite Aasgaard's goal at the 2026 World Cup.
France cruised to a 4-1 win over Norway at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, the Boston-area venue for the 2026 World Cup holding 64,146 spectators and home of the New England Patriots, to close the third round of Group I. The win came at this 48-team World Cup staged by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Didier Deschamps's side came flying out. In the 7th minute, Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring from a Kylian Mbappé pass, and in the 20th Dembélé himself made it two, again set up by Mbappé. Norway hit back instantly: in the 21st, Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back after an Andreas Schjelderup assist to get back into the game.
The Nordic hope was short-lived. In the 32nd minute, Dembélé completed his hat-trick from an Aurélien Tchouaméni pass to take control. Norway still had a chance to claw back, but in the 50th Jørgen Strand Larsen missed a penalty that would have tightened the score. In stoppage time, in the 90+4, Désiré Doué wrapped up the rout after a Bradley Barcola assist.
Deschamps built France around the Mbappé-Dembélé pairing, with Mike Maignan in goal, while Ståle Solbakken could not contain the French gale despite Aasgaard's goal. The match produced few bookings: a yellow for Norway's Patrick Berg (10') and for France's Aurélien Tchouaméni (74'). Dembélé, scorer of all three goals, was named player of the match with a perfect rating.
With this win, France close Group I as leaders with a perfect nine points and confirm themselves as one of the major contenders at the 2026 World Cup. Norway, who had already secured their ticket, finish second on six points and also advance to the last 16.