France Seal Perfect Group Stage with Dembélé Hat-Trick
France swept to the top of World Cup 2026 hub Group I with a commanding 4–1 victory over Norway, completing a flawless group stage with three wins from three. Dembélé was the architect of the win, netting in the 7th, 20th and 32nd minutes to wrap up a stunning hat-trick before half-time.
France were in front as early as the 7th minute when Dembélé opened the scoring. Norway had little time to settle before Dembélé struck again in the 20th minute to double the advantage. Aasgaard gave Norway brief hope in the 21st minute, pulling one back almost immediately, but France’s lead was quickly restored when Dembélé completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute.
Norway Unable to Mount a Comeback
Despite cutting the deficit to 2–1 for a matter of minutes, Norway were unable to build on Aasgaard’s goal. France controlled the remainder of the contest and put the result beyond any doubt when Doué added a fourth in the 90+4th minute, rounding off a dominant performance.
The result means France finish Group I on nine points — a perfect return from their three matches. Norway end second on six points, Senegal are third with three, and Iraq finish bottom without a point. You can follow all the final standings on the live World Cup 2026 standings page.
For Norway, second place is still enough to progress to the knockout rounds, but the margin of defeat underlined the gap between the two sides on the night. France, meanwhile, head into the next round in formidable shape after three straight victories.