FOXBOROUGH: Ousmane Dembele scored the second-fastest hat-trick in FIFA World Cup history as France defeated Norway 4-1 in their final Group I match at Boston Stadium on Friday.
Dembele completed his treble in the 32nd minute, placing him behind only Austria’s Erich Probst, who scored a hat-trick in 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia in 1954.
The Ballon d’Or winner gave France the lead in the seventh minute after receiving a long pass from Kylian Mbappe. Dembele cut inside, moved back outside and fired a powerful shot past Norway goalkeeper Egil Selvik.
He scored again in the 20th minute, once more assisted by Mbappe, before completing his hat-trick 12 minutes later with another composed finish.
Historic World Cup treble
Dembele’s hat-trick also made him only the third French player to score at least three goals in a World Cup match, joining Just Fontaine and Kylian Mbappe.
It was the first first-half hat-trick at the FIFA World Cup since Russia’s Oleg Salenko achieved the feat against Cameroon in 1994 in the United States.
The list of fastest World Cup hat-tricks is led by Probst, followed by Dembele, Gary Lineker, Gerd Muller, Gustav Wetterstrom and Salenko.
France’s 4-1 win ensured they finished top of Group I and strengthened their status as one of the major contenders in the tournament.
