Norway vs France: Dembélé’s 32-Minute Hat-Trick Powers France Past Rotated Norway 4-1

Ousmane Dembélé scored three times in the first half as France defeated a heavily rotated Norway side to win Group I, with both nations advancing to the Round of 32

Ousmane Dembélé exploded for a sensational 32-minute first-half hat-trick as France claimed the undisputed top spot in Group I with a resounding 4-1 victory over Norway.

The breakthrough came rapidly in the 7th minute. Kylian Mbappé threaded an exquisite through ball into the area for Dembélé, who left three defenders trailing to slot it into the far bottom corner. Dembélé doubled his tally in the 20th minute, cutting inside from the edge of the area and launching a lethal curled left-footed effort into the exact same corner.

Norway hit back immediately, just 79 seconds later, when Andreas Schjelderup found an unmarked Thelo Aasgaard on the edge of the box, who fired home a clever low finish past Mike Maignan. France re-established control in the 32nd minute via a magnificent 17-pass team sequence, with Dembélé blasting home a carbon-copy strike to complete his historic hat-trick.

Norway earned a lifeline in the 49th minute when Theo Hernández brought down Oscar Bobb inside the area, but Jørgen Strand Larsen’s weak penalty kick was easily collected by a diving Maignan. In the final moments of stoppage time, substitute Bradley Barcola floated a cross into the center box, allowing Désiré Doué to direct a clean header past goalkeeper Egil Selvik.

France dominated possession with 57 percent and registered 19 shots, 10 on target, while Norway managed 10 shots, five on target. French passing accuracy stood at 90 percent compared to Norway’s 83 percent.

Norway manager Ståle Solbakken opted to heavily rotate his squad, resting 10 of his 11 first-choice starters, including Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard, who watched the entire match from the bench.

According to a report by Accra Street Journal, Dembélé’s treble catapults him into the tournament’s top scorers with four goals, alongside Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, and Haaland. France will face Sweden in the Round of 32, while Norway progresses as group runner-up to challenge the Ivory Coast in Dallas on June 30.

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Venue and Kickoff Time

• • Stadium: Gillette Boston Stadium (Foxborough, Massachusetts)
  • Kickoff: 19:00 GMT

⚽ Pre-Match Analysis

📋 Predicted Lineups

• • Norway Starting XI: Nyland; Ryerson, Østigård, Hanche-Olsen, Wolfe; Myhre, Berge, Ødegaard; Bobb, Haaland, Sörloth.
  • France Starting XI: Maignan; Koundé, Upamecano, Saliba, T. Hernández; Kanté, Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Griezmann, Mbappé, Dembélé.

📊 Match Facts and Head-to-Head (H2H)

• • H2H Record: France leads the historic record, but Norway famously shocked Les Bleus with a 1-0 victory in 1997.
  • Key Fact: France holds a slim +5 goal difference advantage compared to Norway’s +4 margin.

Source: Accra Street Journal 

Last Updated on June 27, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.

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