France placed on a press release efficiency in opposition to Norway, cruising to a commanding 4-1 victory on Matchday 3 of Group I, fueled by a sensational show from Ousmane Dembélé. The Ballon d’Or holder bagged a medical hat trick within the win, a feat that formally ties him to Cristiano Ronaldo and a small group of legends in an especially uncommon World Cup milestone.
By scoring 3 times in opposition to Norway, Dembélé grew to become solely the fourth participant in the complete historical past of the World Cup to attain a hat trick whereas reigning because the Ballon d’Or holder.
The Paris Saint-Germain ahead joins a extremely unique circle of soccer royalty, alongside Eusébio, who scored 4 objectives in opposition to North Korea in 1966, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who struck a hat trick in opposition to Chile in 1982, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who famously did the identical in opposition to Spain in 2018.
The commanding victory allowed France to clinch prime spot in Group I, leaving Norway in second place. Within the Spherical of 32, Les Bleus will play on June 30 at New York New Jersey Stadium, the place they are going to face Sweden.
Dembélé joins the Golden Boot race
Past the historic particular person milestone, Dembélé’s hat trick additionally catapults the ahead into the thick of the Golden Boot dialog. The Frenchman’s treble in opposition to Norway, added to his earlier aim in opposition to Iraq, lifts his event tally to 4 objectives, pulling him degree with Vinícius Júnior, Erling Haaland, and his personal teammate Kylian Mbappé.
see additionally
Cristiano Ronaldo receives distinctive honor after rewriting World Cup historical past forward of essential conflict vs Colombia
Sitting simply above that group is Lionel Messi, who continues to steer the race with 5 objectives by means of Argentina’s group-stage marketing campaign, a tally that has already pushed him previous Miroslav Klose for probably the most objectives scored throughout all World Cups in historical past.
With the group stage now wrapping up and the knockout rounds looming, the Golden Boot image stays extensive open. Dembélé’s surge means France might realistically have two legit contenders for the award, giving Les Bleus added incentive to go deep into the event.
