Dembele scores hat-trick as France star joins World Cup greats

Published 27 Jun, 2026 09:56am 1 min read
Ousmane Dembele. -- Reuters
Ousmane Dembele. -- Reuters

France forward Ousmane Dembele scored a hat-trick in his side’s Group I match against Norway at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Boston on Friday, becoming only the third French player to achieve the feat at the tournament.

Dembele completed his hat-trick in just 32 minutes, joining Kylian Mbappe and former France striker Just Fontaine as the only French players to score a World Cup treble.

Fontaine recorded two hat-tricks during the 1958 World Cup, against Paraguay and West Germany, while Mbappe achieved the feat in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina, a match France ultimately lost on penalties after a 3-3 draw.

Dembele’s performance also marked the first World Cup hat-trick completed before halftime since 1994.

The French forward opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a right-footed strike into the bottom-left corner.

He doubled his tally in the 20th minute with a powerful effort from outside the penalty area before completing his hat-trick 12 minutes later with a curling shot beyond the Norway goalkeeper.

Dembele’s treble was the second hat-trick recorded at the 2026 World Cup, following the three-goal performance by Jonathan David for Canada against Qatar in Group B.

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