Ousmane Dembele scored a historic hat-trick as France thrashed Norway 4-1 to finish top of Group I with a perfect record. Assisted twice by Kylian Mbappe, Dembele became the scorer of the second-fastest World Cup hat-trick. Desire Doue added a late goal, while Mike Maignan saved a penalty as France extended their dominant run into the knockout stage.

Boston: Ousmane Dembele’s historic hat-trick powered France to the top of Group I with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Norway at the Gillette Stadium on Friday. The two-time champions won all three of their group matches, scoring three goals or more in each fixture while conceding just twice. Elsewhere in the group, Senegal thrashed Iraq 5-0 to keep their qualification hopes alive.

The contest had been highly anticipated as a heavyweight matchup between Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. However, it was effectively over before kickoff, with Haaland, Martin Odegaard, and as many as 10 players who started against Senegal missing from the Norwegian lineup. Norway coach Stale Solbakken blamed player fatigue following two grueling wins and a short turnaround time as his reason for resting key stars ahead of their knockout match against the Ivory Coast in Dallas. France meets Sweden in New Jersey on Tuesday.

While Mbappe did not get on the scoresheet himself, he turned provider by assisting Dembele twice. Dembele, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, became the scorer of the second-fastest hat-trick in World Cup history, trailing only Austria's Erich Probst, who netted three in 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia in 1954. It was also the first World Cup treble since Oleg Salenko’s five-goal haul for Russia against Cameroon at Stanford during the USA 1994. Dembele showed little interest in padding his personal tally in the second half, repeatedly turning provider for his fellow forwards—especially Mbappe—despite being in clear shooting positions. He was substituted in the 65th minute to a standing ovation, replaced by Bradley Barcola.

The French forwards swarmed the Norwegian defense from the opening whistle. Finding space at the edge of the box, Mbappe unleashed a fierce right-footed shot to rattle the underside of the crossbar in the opening minute. Hesitation in the backline gave Desire Doue a clear sight of the goal in the fifth minute, but Norway goalkeeper Egil Selvik came to the rescue.