While you slept
France beat Norway 4-1 to top Group I, and the night belonged to Ousmane Dembele. The Ballon d'Or holder scored in the 7th, 20th and 32nd minutes — a hat-trick before the break, the first half-time treble at a World Cup since Oleg Salenko in 1994. Norway pulled one back through Aasgaard on 21 minutes, but Desire Doue added a fourth in stoppage time. Norway, already through, finished second and left striker Erling Haaland out of the starting XI. In the other Group I match, Senegal hammered Iraq 5-0 in Toronto, Pape Gueye scoring twice alongside goals from Diarra, Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye, with Iraq reduced to ten men. After two opening defeats, Senegal sneaked into third on three points and kept alive their hope of grabbing one of the eight best-third spots. Iraq lost all three and went out. Final table: 1) France, 2) Norway, 3) Senegal, 4) Iraq.
Japan today
Japan's next match is their Round of 32 tie with Brazil — 29 June in Houston, kicking off at 2am on the 30th Japan time. Takefusa Kubo, still managing a left-knee problem, continues to train with the knockouts in mind. Whether Sweden, who drew 1-1 with Japan, survive as a best-third team will be settled across the final group games today and tomorrow.
What to watch today (JST)
The Group H finale kicks off at 9am: Uruguay vs Spain decide top spot, with Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia alongside. At noon, the Group G finale brings New Zealand vs Belgium and Egypt vs Iran. With those done, the group stage is complete and both the last-32 line-up and the best-third places fall into place.
Related Links
Links for readers who want to check tournament format, fixtures, venues, and related details.
