Dembélé's first-half hat trick wins Group I for France — and Norway leave Haaland on the bench

7th, 20th, 32nd minute

Dembélé's first goal came in the 7th minute, his second in the 20th. Norway answered almost immediately — Thelo Aasgaard cut the lead to 2-1 just over a minute later — but the reply did not last. Dembélé completed his hat trick in the 32nd minute, all three goals coming before the interval. It was the first first-half hat trick at a World Cup in more than 30 years, and the second-fastest hat trick in the tournament's history. Désiré Doué headed in a fourth in the final minute, and France closed Group I with a 4-1 win, three victories and nine points. Both sides had already booked their Round of 32 places before kickoff, so the match mainly settled seeding — yet France lined up at close to full strength and Dembélé took the game away from the first goal.

The decision to rest Haaland

The game had been billed as a duel between two of the tournament's biggest names, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. It never happened. Norway coach Ståle Solbakken named Haaland among the substitutes — not because of injury, but because Norway had already secured a place in the Round of 32 and wanted their main players fresh. This is Norway's first World Cup since 1998, when they reached the Round of 16; for a side that wants to go as far as it can on a rare appearance, there was little reason to overwork their best forward in a game already won in the table. "It is 100% certain that we will need to be rested for the Round of 32, mentally and physically. It could be that we have to play 30 minutes of extra time or penalties," Solbakken had said after Norway's previous win. Mbappé started but did not score, so the headline meeting of the two forwards never materialized. By keeping Haaland out, Norway accepted second place in the group rather than risk their forward in a game that, for them, mainly decided where they finished.

How Group I finished, and what comes next

France topped the group on nine points, Norway second on six. Senegal beat Iraq 5-0 in the other Group I match but finished third on three points with a goal difference of plus two — a regular top side in Africa now left to wait on the other groups to see whether they slip into the eight best third-placed teams. Iraq, in their first World Cup since 1986, lost all three and are out. France, two-time world champions in 1998 and 2018, eased through the group with three wins and go into the knockout rounds as one of the favorites.

Under the bracket, the Group I winner meets one of the third-placed teams from Groups C, D, F, G or H, while the Group I runner-up plays the runner-up of Group E. Both of those Round of 32 opponents are set once the last group games finish on June 27 and 28 — the same window that decides whether Sweden, the side Japan drew 1-1 with on the final day, advances as a best third. France will know their last-32 opponent by then; Norway, having spent the night protecting Haaland, will too.