Massachusetts [US]: Following their sensational win over Norway in their final league stage FIFA World Cup match, France won all three of their group stage matches in a major competition for the first time since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, while the duo of hat-trick hero Ousmane Dembele and captain Kylian Mbappe emerged as a star pairing.
Dembele's historic World Cup hat-trick and Mbappe's assists were the highlights as France went on a rampage against a Haaland-less Norway, securing a 4-1 win to go into the round of 32 in style.
As per OptaJoe, it is for the first time since the 1998 FIFA World Cup that France has won all three group stage matches in a major competition. The 1998 edition saw France win their first-ever global crown, beating Brazil in the title clash. So, repeating a clean sweep in the group stage is an ominous sign to the world that France are ready to add a third star on their jersey.
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As per Opta Analyst, the pairing of Dembele and Mbappe is only the third duo to combine for five goals during one single FIFA World Cup, with Mbappe delivering two assists to Dembele in the Norway clash. The other pairs to do so in a single FIFA WC are Poland's Andrzej Szarmach and Grzegorz Lato and Germany's Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack.
France has scored three goals in each of their last FIFA World Cup matches, the joint longest run of a side scoring three or more goals in successive WC matches, and the longest since Spain did it between 1998 and 2002.
Dembele scripted history as he became the first player to net a first-half hat trick at the FIFA World Cup since Oleg Salenko in 1994.
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Dembele achieved this feat against Norway in their final FIFA World Cup group stage match at Foxborough on Friday.
Dembele's hat-trick just 32 minutes into this game is the second earliest a player has scored a FIFA World Cup hat-trick in a match, behind Erich Probst in 1954 for Austria against Czechoslovakia (24 minutes), as per OptaJoe.
Dembele is also just the third French player to score a FIFA World Cup hat-trick, joining Just Fontaine and Kylian Mbappe.
Dembele's hat-trick goal was the first of the 182 scored at this FIFA World Cup to feature every one of his team's 11 players involved in the build-up, as per OptaJoe.
France leads the fixture against Norway 3-1 in the first half. Dembele opened the scoring with a superb finish in the seventh minute before doubling France's advantage with a stunning left-footed strike from outside the box in the 20th.
Norway responded immediately through Thelo Aasgaard just a minute later, but Ballon d'Or winner Dembele completed his hat-trick in the 32nd minute with a powerful finish to restore France's two-goal cushion.
Fans were denied the much-anticipated showdown between star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, with Norway manager Stale Solbakken opting to rest 10 regular starters, including Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard.
