Ousmane Dembélé moved France ahead in the golden boot race with three first-half goals in a 4-1 World Cup win over Norway on Friday. He scored in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes, then left in the 65th after a match that also lifted him to four goals at this year's tournament.
Dembélé beats Norway early
The opener came in the seventh minute, and the second followed 13 minutes later. Dembélé finished the hat trick in the 32nd minute, with one of the goals set up by Kylian Mbappé.
That scoring burst put France in control before halftime and separated Dembélé from the usual late-match clutter that can swallow a tournament goal race. He now has four goals at this year's World Cup, a total that keeps him in the frame as the scoring tally tightens.
Mike Maignan stops Norway
Norway got one back through Thelo Aasgaard 14 seconds after the restart, but Mike Maignan answered in the 49th minute by saving Jorgen Strand Larsen's penalty. France then kept the game settled until Désiré Doué added the final goal in second-half injury time.
Erling Haaland was among 10 regular starters absent from Norway's starting lineup, a decision that left Norway without one of its most recognizable attackers from the first whistle. France had already secured its place in the knockout round before Friday, and Norway had already locked up a spot in the round of 32.
France and Norway shift focus
Dembélé's night also matched a rare World Cup pattern. Previous first-half hat tricks at the tournament included Laszlo Kiss in 7 minutes, 42 seconds for Hungary against El Salvador at the World Cup in Spain, Erich Probst in the opening 24 minutes for Austria at the World Cup in Switzerland, and Oleg Salenko's three goals in the opening 45 minutes for Russia against Cameroon at the World Cup in the United States.
Dembélé left after 65 minutes with France already out of reach, and the scoring race now sits on his four-goal total rather than the margin on the night. The result leaves France's path into the knockout round untouched, while Norway moves on after finishing second in the group.
