FIFA World Cup 2026 | Group I, Match 61 | Friday, 26 June 2026 Boston Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts | Referee: TBC
Norway made ten changes. France made none. That tells you everything about the different stakes going into this one.
Erling Haaland was rested. Martin Ødegaard was rested. Eight others were rested alongside them. Ståle Solbakken looked at the group table, confirmed his side had already qualified, and decided protecting his best players for the knockout stage was worth any result. Norway played a reserves team in a World Cup group game.
France played their best team. And Ousmane Dembélé scored three goals before half-time.
Norway 1-4 France. Dembélé’s stunning first-half hat-trick was the second-fastest in tournament history. France won all three group games for just the second time in their history. Group I is theirs. The knockout stage awaits in New Jersey.
Dembélé scored in the seventh minute — assisted by Mbappé. The move was quick and direct — Mbappé driving into space on the left and finding Dembélé arriving across the face of goal. The finish was clean. One-nil in seven minutes and France were already in control.
The second came in the 20th minute. Mbappé with the assist again for Dembélé’s second goal. Two for the PSG forward. Two assists for his captain. The partnership was working at a level that Norway’s rotated eleven had absolutely no answer for.
Then something unexpected. Thelo Aasgaard scored in the 21st minute, assisted by Schjelderup. Norway had a goal. The debutant midfielder — one of the few players from Norway’s regular starting group who featured — caught France slightly flat and turned the ball in. 2-1. One minute after France’s second. The crowd at Boston Stadium came to life briefly.
It lasted nine minutes. Dembélé completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute. Three goals. Thirteen minutes of action between the first and third. The second-fastest hat-trick in World Cup history. He received a standing ovation when Deschamps finally substituted him off — replaced by Doué, who would go on to add the fourth — and jogged off with the match ball.
Norway earned a penalty early in the second half. Finally, with Haaland off resting, Jørgen Strand Larsen stepped up. Strand Larsen completely fluffed his lines and Maignan made the simple stop. Norway’s one real chance to make the scoreline more competitive, gone. Maignan barely moved. The penalty was soft and central and the France goalkeeper gathered it without drama.
Désiré Doué scored in the 90+4th minute to complete the 4-1 win. A late goal that added gloss but changed nothing about the story. France were dominant from the seventh minute. Norway, with their best players watching from the stands or the bench, were never going to live with that level of attack even with a full squad.
The numbers made for uncomfortable reading if you were Norwegian. France had 18 attempts to Norway’s 10, nine shots on target to five. Possession 51% to 40%. Norway actually had a higher xG of 1.69 to France’s 1.31 because of that missed penalty — a stat that reveals how costly Strand Larsen’s miss truly was.
Dembélé’s performance earned a perfect 10.0 rating from Sofascore — the first player to achieve that in this tournament. He was involved in everything. His movement, his directness, the way he kept pulling wide and then arriving into central spaces before France’s opponents could react. Mbappé’s two assists were a reminder of how terrifying this combination is when both players are fully engaged. Norway’s second-string backline had no chance.
For France, nine points from nine available. Three wins from three. They will face a third-place qualifier in their Round of 32 game in New Jersey. The draw for that match depends on how the other groups finish. What Deschamps knows is that his side is in the form of the tournament — Mbappé’s record-breaking night against Senegal, the first-half demolition here. The goals are flowing and the squad depth is extraordinary.
Norway will meet Ivory Coast in Dallas in their Round of 32 match. They go into that game with Haaland fresh, Ødegaard fresh, and the memory of what happened on Friday night kept firmly in the context of what it was — a deliberate decision to protect the first team. Whether that decision proves wise depends entirely on how they handle the Ivory Coast.
For live World Cup scores and knockout bracket updates, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full results, standings and Round of 32 fixtures at the official FIFA World Cup website.
Norway 1-4 France FIFA World Cup 2026, Group I, Match 61 | Friday, 26 June 2026 Boston Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts
Goals: Ousmane Dembélé 7′ (assist: Mbappé), Ousmane Dembélé 20′ (assist: Mbappé), Thelo Aasgaard 21′ (Norway, assist: Schjelderup), Ousmane Dembélé 32′ (hat-trick), Désiré Doué 90’+4′ (France)
Penalty missed: Jørgen Strand Larsen (Norway, second half, saved by Maignan)
Yellow Cards: Petter Berg 10′ (Norway, serious foul play)
Norway (rotated XI — 10 changes from Senegal game): GK; defenders; Aasgaard, Schjelderup and others; Strand Larsen
France (full strength): Maignan; Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernández; Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Dembélé (Doué sub), Olise, Mbappé; Barcola
Stats: Possession France 51% — Norway 40% (9% contested) | Attempts 18-10 | Shots on Target 9-5 | xG France 1.31 — Norway 1.69 | Half-time: 3-1
Record: Dembélé hat-trick — second fastest in World Cup history. Sofascore rating 10.0 — perfect score.
Group I final standings: France 9 pts (group winners) | Norway 3 pts | Senegal 3 pts | Iraq 0 pts
Round of 32: France vs third-place qualifier (New Jersey) | Norway vs Ivory Coast (Dallas)
