Dembele hat-trick sends France into World Cup knockout stage

Ballon d‍‍`Or winner Ousmane Dembele struck a first-half hat-trick as France cruised to a 4-1 victory over Norway on Friday, completing a perfect group-stage campaign at the FIFA World Cup.

Dembele scored three times inside the opening 32 minutes, producing one of the earliest hat-tricks in World Cup history as France finished top of Group I with maximum nine points.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward opened the scoring in the seventh minute before adding goals in the 20th and 32nd minutes. Thelo Aasgaard briefly reduced the deficit for Norway between Dembele‍‍`s second and third goals, while Desire Doue sealed the win late in the match.

France will now face one of the best third-placed teams in the Round of 32 next Tuesday in New Jersey.

The victory came on an emotional day for Les Bleus, who were without head coach Didier Deschamps after he returned to France to attend his mother‍‍`s funeral. Deschamps is expected to rejoin the squad on Saturday.

Norway, who had already secured qualification before kickoff, rested several key players, including Erling Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and striker Alexander Sorloth.

Despite the changes, Norway created chances and could have narrowed the margin early in the second half. However, Jorgen Strand Larsen saw his penalty saved by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan after Oscar Bobb was brought down inside the area.

Dembele‍‍`s performance further strengthened his impressive tournament, taking his tally to four goals after also scoring in France‍‍`s opening win over Iraq.

His hat-trick also placed him among an exclusive group of French players to score three goals in a World Cup match, joining Just Fontaine and Kylian Mbappe.

Norway finished second in Group I with six points and will meet Ivory Coast in the Round of 32.