Dembele Scores Record-Breaking Hat-Trick as France Cruise Past Norway 4–1

Darwin, 27 June : In the 96-year history of the World Cup, Ousmane Dembélé has set a remarkable record by scoring the second-fastest hat-trick ever in the tournament.

On Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Boston, against Norway, the Ballon d’Or–winning star completed his hat-trick within just 32 minutes, etching his name into World Cup history as the French forward achieved this milestone.

On a record-breaking night for Dembélé, France defeated Norway 4–1, securing a perfect 9 points from 3 matches and advancing to the knockout stage as Group “I” champions.

From the start of the match, France put heavy pressure on Norway’s defense. In the 7th minute, Dembélé opened the scoring with a brilliant finish after receiving a pass from Kylian Mbappé. He doubled both his and his team’s tally in the 20th minute. Norway responded in the 22nd minute through Dallo Asgard, but it did not stop France’s attacking momentum. In the 32nd minute, Dembélé completed his hat-trick with a superb curling left-footed strike from inside the penalty area.

His 32-minute hat-trick has been recorded as the second-fastest in World Cup history. Only one player has ever scored a faster hat-trick on the world stage.

The fastest hat-trick still belongs to Austria’s Erich Probst, who scored a hat-trick in just 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia in the 1954 World Cup, a record that remains unbroken to this day.

On the night of Dembélé’s achievement, French goalkeeper Mike Maignan also made history. In the second half, he brilliantly saved a penalty taken by Norway’s Strand Larsen. In doing so, he became the first French goalkeeper since Joel Bats—who saved a penalty against Brazil’s Zico in the 1986 World Cup—to save a penalty in normal World Cup play (excluding penalty shootouts).

Late in the match, Désiré Doué added France’s fourth and final goal after an assist from PSG teammate Bradley Barcola.

With this victory, France advanced to the knockout stage as group champions, while despite the loss, Norway also qualified for the next round as runners-up.