France has stormed into the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026, winning all three of their Group I matches. In their final group game late on Friday night, as per Indian time, they completely outplayed Norway with a 4-1 victory.
The match was pretty much decided in the first half itself, with four goals coming in quick succession.
The star of the show was Ousmane Dembele, who scored a stunning hat-trick in just 32 minutes. The French forward opened the scoring in the 7th minute and doubled the lead in the 20th. Norway tried to fight back, with Thelo Aasgaard pulling one back just a minute later. But Dembele was unstoppable, completing his hat-trick in the 32nd minute.
France went into halftime with a comfortable 3-1 lead. Désiré Doué added another goal in the second half’s injury time to seal the deal. With this win, France finished at the top of the group with nine points from three matches, while Norway came in second with six points.
No Mbappé vs Haaland Showdown
Football fans all over the world were waiting for the big clash between Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, but that showdown didn’t happen. Norway’s head coach, Ståle Solbakken, made a surprising move by making 10 changes to his starting lineup. He deliberately rested all his key players.
Norway had already secured their spot in the knockouts after beating Iraq and Senegal, so Solbakken fielded a second-string team against the French side. His team did put up a fight, though. Norway even got a penalty, but Jorgen Strand Larsen’s weak shot was easily saved by French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
France’s Likely Opponent is Sweden
Looking ahead to the knockout stage, France is likely to face Sweden. Meanwhile, Norway is expected to play against Ivory Coast. The knockout rounds are shaping up to be a real nail-biter, and football fans everywhere are eagerly waiting for the action to begin.