Overview
- France beat Norway 4-1 Friday after Ousmane Dembélé scored three first-half goals to put the match beyond reach.
- Kylian Mbappé played a key creative role, providing the diagonal assist for Dembélé’s opener and hitting the crossbar early in the game.
- Norway made heavy squad changes and left Erling Haaland on the bench, a rotation choice the coach defended as prioritizing the knockout rounds.
- The result left France with a perfect nine points as Group I winners while Norway finished second and will face Ivory Coast in the round of 16.
- Reports confirm Didier Deschamps missed the match for a family bereavement but differ on whether it was his mother or grandmother, and Dembélé’s four-goal tournament tally moves him into the Golden Boot conversation.