Dembélé's hat-trick sends France top of Group I; Senegal is still alive to advance to the 2026 World Cup
Ousmane Dembélé led France to a triumphant win against Norway's B-team, while Senegal prevailed against Iraq to boost their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
France firmly sealed the top of Group I of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after defeating Norway's B-team with a score of 4-1 led by Ousmane Dembélé, who exploded in the game with a hat-trick. France made three changes from the last match against Iraq focusing on Theo Hernández, Maxence Lacroix, and Désiré Doué, while Norway played without their stars Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard who were only on reserve.
The two teams first paid their respects with a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the earthquake in Venezuela. Also thanks to Norway's experimental lineups, France went ahead right from the start and Dembélé quickly proved it. In just twenty minutes, the Ballon d'Or winner scored twice for Les Bleus.
Thelo Åsgaard momentarily cemented Norway's breakthrough with a goal, but Dembélé struck again and completed his hat-trick just before half-time. Dembélé showed off his ability to use both feet—scoring a superb right-footed pass, and swung in from the right for the last two goals in Arjen Robben style.
<figure style="margin:2rem 0;overflow:hidden;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;background:#f9f9f9"><img src="https://webp.vi.cdn.pxr.nl/news/2026/06/26/329e50937c340380567010f3e151b2a507778c80.jpg?width=1200" alt="Image" style="width:100%;height:auto;object-fit:contain" loading="lazy" /></figure>In the second period, Norway had a penalty chance but Mike Maignan cut off Jørgen Strand Larsen's comeback hope. France held firm towards the end, and before the end of the match Doué came on to score the fourth goal that lifted them to confirmed group victory.
In the other match, Senegal ended their group campaign on a positive note with a 5-0 win against Iraq. They quickly went on offense and in the fourth minute Habib Diarra scored. Iraq's situation worsened after Rebin Sulaka was sent off for a foul on Sadio Mané, leaving Iraq with one player down for more than 80 minutes.
Senegal went on a rampage in the second half: Ismaïla Sarr struck first, a spectacular long-range shot from Pape Gueye to make it 3-0, and later he also had the fourth goal. Iliman Ndiaye scored the fifth for Senegal, who made history as the first African squad to score five goals in a World Cup match.
Now, Senegal hopes to enter as one of the best third placers to make it to the next round. Stay tuned for the official confirmation based on the results of the other groups in the World Cup 2026.
