Hat-trick hero Dembele gives France easy win over Haaland-less Norway; Mbappe blanks

Kylian Mbappe was expected to shine, but it was his teammate Ousmane Dembele who entertained with a hat-trick as France crushed Norway 4-1 to top Group I of the FIFA World Cup in Boston.

The French fielded a strong starting XI while the Vikings rested their regulars, including chief targetman, Erling Haaland, and skipper Martin Odegaard. Not trying too hard in their final group match made sense for Norway, as they had already booked a berth in the round of 32 with two wins.

But going with a second-string side against the mighty French was always asking for trouble. Mbappe hit the woodwork quite early before Dembele entered the act. The Ballon d’Or winner scored in the 7th, 20th and 32nd minutes, while captain Mbappe, who started the match two goals behind Lionel Messi’s record 18 in World Cups, failed to score.

The French might not have any complaints though because, despite a laid-back second half, they still finished with a perfect record in the group phase. A fourth goal scored by Desire Doue (90+4) and Mike Maignan saving a penalty from Jorgen Strand Larsen could be seen as a proper warm-up for the knockouts.

The party in Boston started when Dembele fired one past Egil Selvik after toying with the Norwegian defence on the right flank. The PSG winger bagged another with a graceful left-foot finish. A minute later, Thelo Aasgaard halved the deficit with a clinical strike.

Dembele wasn't done yet, and he produced another masterful finish. It seemed a copy of his second goal, and all Selvik could do was watch and admire.

Meanwhile, Senegal drubbed Iraq 5-0 in Toronto to give themselves a first win and a chance to be counted among the best eight third-placed sides that could advance. Habib Diarra (4), Pape Gueye (59, 71), Ismaila Sarr (56) and Ndiaye (82) scored for the African powerhouses.

France will play one of the third-place finishers in New Jersey on Tuesday in their round of 32 encounter, while Norway will head to Arlington to face the Ivory Coast.