Dembele dazzles with hat-trick for France as Senegal thrash Iraq 5-0 to keep World Cup hopes alive
France took first place in Group I with a 4-1 win Norwayinspired by the hat-trick from the first half Ousmane Dembelewhile Senegal kept their FIFA World Cup hopes alive with a 5-0 demolition of 10 men Iraq.
Since France and Norway had already advanced to the round of 16 before kick-off, the match decided which team would finish first in the group.
Pre-match expectations of a clash between Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland faded after Norway coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to the starting line-up, leaving Haaland on the bench.
Dembele dazzles as France claim top spot
France quickly took advantage as Dembele opened the scoring in the seventh minute after Mbappe set him up in the penalty area.
The Ballon d’Or winner doubled the lead in the 20th minute with a goal before Norway hit back briefly through Thelo Aasgaard less than two minutes later.
Dembele completed his hat-trick in the 39th minute with another defensive left-footed strike, becoming the first player since Oleg Salenko in 1994 to score three first-half goals in a Men’s World Cup match.
The treble, achieved in just 32 minutes, also became the second fastest World Cup hat-trick from a kick-off, behind Austrian Erich Probst in 1954.
Desire Doue added a fourth goal deep into stoppage time to complete another convincing performance from Didier Deschamps’ side.
France will now face one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams in Sweden, in the Round of 16, while Norway are paired with Ivory Coast.
Senegal finished well to boost their qualification hopes
Elsewhere, Senegal produced their best performance of the tournament by crushing Iraq 5-0 in Toronto to bolster their chances of progressing as one of the top third-placed teams.
The Lions of Teranga took control after just four minutes when Abdoulaye Seck’s header deflected off Habib Diarra and found the net.
Iraq’s task became even more difficult nine minutes later when defender Rebin Sulaka was sent off for denying Sadio Mane a clear goal-scoring opportunity following a VAR review.
Senegal eventually took advantage of their numerical advantage in the second half. Ismaila Sarr doubled the lead in the 56th minute before substitute Pape Gueye struck twice, including a superb strike from distance.
Iliman Ndiaye completed the rout late on as Senegal finished third in Group I with three points, moving into the top five of the best third-placed teams.
The emphatic victory keeps Senegal’s qualification hopes alive, although they must now rely on results in their other groups to determine whether they progress to the last 16.
