France forward Ousmane Dembele scored a first-half hat-trick as Les Bleus beat Norway 4-1 to win Group I at Boston Stadium on Friday, while Norway rested star Erling Haaland on the bench.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Both teams had already clinched places in the round of 32 before the group finale: France would top the group with a win or a draw, while Norway needed victory to finish first.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The first half was played at a high tempo as Kylian Mbappe tested Norway's defense in the first minute, racing down the right and firing a shot that rattled the underside of the crossbar, reported Xinhua.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the seventh minute, Dembele opened the scoring with a powerful strike into the top right corner after Mbappe's cross.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jorgen Strand Larsen had an opportunity to level in the 14th minute, but his shot went too high.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
France extended the lead to 2-0 in the 20th minute when Dembele received from Mbappe, cut inside from the right and produced a perfect finish, shortly after Mbappe had a shot saved by the goalkeeper.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Norway pulled one back through winger Thelo Aasgaard a minute later with a fine low strike from outside the area.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But France seemed unstoppable as Dembele completed a hat-trick in the 32nd minute with another precise finish into the far post.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Dembele's treble is the sixth first-half hat-trick in World Cup history and the first since Oleg Salenko's for Russia against Cameroon in 1994. It's also the third hat-trick scored at the current tournament after Argentina's Lionel Messi and Canada's Jonathan David.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Norway missed a chance to narrow the gap in the 50th minute when France goalkeeper Mike Maignan dived low to his left to save Strand Larsen's penalty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the 56th minute, Norway goalkeeper Egil Selvik received treatment after hurting himself diving to stop a thunderous Mbappe shot that flashed just inches past the post.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Norway missed a chance to narrow the gap in the 50th minute when France goalkeeper Mike Maignan dived low to his left to save Strand Larsen's penalty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Norway finished second in the group as Haaland remains level with Mbappe on four goals, one behind Messi in the Golden Boot race.<\/p>\r\n\r\n