Ousmane Dembele scored the second-earliest hat-trick in World Cup history as France defeated Norway 4-1 to ensure they finished top of Group I.

An enthralling contest at Boston Stadium lived up to its pre-match billing even though Norway sprung a surprise by making 10 changes to their starting XI, including leaving Erling Haaland on the substitutes' bench throughout.

Dembele had reached three goals by the 32nd minute as part of a frantic first half which also saw Kylian Mbappe hit the crossbar after just 22 seconds, while Thelo Aasgaard netted for Norway at the other end.

Norway’s hopes of a comeback were dashed when Jorgen Strand Larsen had a penalty saved by Mike Maignan after the break and victory looked secure by the time star man Dembele was withdrawn in the 65th minute, with Desire Doue then putting the icing on the cake in stoppage time.

After finishing as runners-up, Norway will now have to face Ivory Coast in Dallas on June 30, while France will take on one of the teams finishing in third place later the same day in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 

France, playing without head coach Didier Deschamps following the death of his mother, made a fantastic start. Within 20 minutes, they had already racked up seven shots on target – the most by a team in that span in a World Cup match since such records began in 1966.

Mbappe almost gave them a dream start from the game’s first attack, but saw his effort from a tight angle crash against the crossbar after Dembele had capitalised on a mistake from Leo Ostigard.

But the same duo combined to give France a seventh-minute lead, with a throughball from Mbappe finding Dembele, who cut inside from the right to smash a right-footed shot high into the corner across unsighted goalkeeper Egil Selvik.

Strand Larsen blazed over from eight yards out as Norway passed up a golden opportunity to equalise, and they paid the price when Dembele struck again after 20 minutes.

Mbappe found Dembele in a similar position and he once more cut inside, but this time used his left foot to send a magnificent strike into the far corner from 20 yards out.

But just as France supporters were partying in the stands, Les Bleus switched off from the restart as Norway struck straight back. After being set up by Andreas Schjelderup, Aasgaard drove past Dayot Upamecano and sent a low finish into the bottom corner from 15 yards with France keeper Maignan unmoved.

That man Dembele soon restored France’s two-goal advantage. Aurelien Tchouameni located the Paris Saint-Germain forward inside the box and he displayed patience, toying with the Norway defence before ultimately finding the bottom corner with another left-footed strike.

Selvik had to react sharply to deny both Doue and Manu Kone towards the end of the first half, and those moments could have proven crucial if Strand Larsen converted from the spot early in the second half.

However, after Oscar Bobb had been tripped by Theo Hernandez, Maignan comfortably saved the Crystal Palace striker’s spot-kick low down to his left.

Mbappe seemed determined to get his goal and he fired inches wide from just outside the box with a trademark powerful strike.

Aside from Maignan making an excellent save to deny Bobb, France were in full control as the match reached its closing stages, and they opted to take no risks with Dembele or Michael Olise by substituting them prior to the second hydration break.

And Doue added gloss to the scoreline in the fourth minute of added time, heading in a cross from substitute Bradley Barcola.

Dembele and Mbappe strike fear into France rivals

Two of the goals scored by Dembele were set up by Mbappe, as the connection between two world-class players proved far too powerful for Norway’s second-string defence.

While Mbappe was unfortunate not to score himself, both players are now on four goals for the tournament, making France the first World Cup team since Poland in 1974 to have two players score as many goals in a single group stage.

The form of France’s attacking stars is certain to strike fear into their rivals going into the knockout stage.

For Dembele, this was the second-earliest hat-trick in a World Cup match, only trailing Austria's Erich Probst, who struck a 24-minute treble versus Czechoslovakia way back in 1954.

He has now scored in back-to-back World Cup appearances, having previously not netted at all across his first 12 outings in the competition.

Mbappe, meanwhile, now has 20 World Cup goal involvements (16 goals, four assists) since he made his debut in 2018, that is more than any other player in that time, two ahead of Lionel Messi (13 goals, five assists).

He has been directly involved in six goals at this edition (four goals, two assists), the most by a player in the group stage of a single edition since Miroslav Klose also had six (five goals, one assist) in 2002.

The omens are good for France. This is only the second time they have won all three of their World Cup group games and the last time they did so was in 1998, when they went on to win the competition.

As for Norway, their reliance on Haaland could not be clearer, as they are winless in their last six competitive matches without him in the starting XI (D3 L3).

Norway became just the fourth World Cup team to make at least 10 changes to their line-up in the same edition, and – despite the disappointment here – their stars should be fresh for what looks set to be one of the best ties of the round-of-32 stage against Ivory Coast.