Ousmane Dembele tore Norway apart inside just 32 minutes as France flexed their muscles at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Three goals from the PSG No.10 made life pretty easy for Les Bleus in the absence of Didier Deschamps, who missed the game to return to France for his mother’s funeral.
Few players net a hat-trick that quickly in any competition let alone at the World Cup, but where does Dembele rank in the list of those to bag three goals this rapidly at the tournament? Fourth, to be exact.
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Ousmane Dembele makes a piece of World Cup history during Norway vs France
Only three players in the history of the World Cup have scored a hat-trick quicker than Dembele, who is of African descent, did against Norway.
| Rank | Player | Country | Opponent | World Cup | Goals | Time to complete |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laszlo Kiss | Hungary | El Salvador | 1982 | 69′, 72′, 76′ | 7 minutes |
| 2 | Erich Probst | Austria | Czechoslovakia | 1954 | 4′, 21′, 24′ | 20 minutes |
| 3 | Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | South Korea | 1954 | 24′, 46′, 50′ | 26 minutes |
| 4 | Ousmane Dembele | France | Norway | 2026 | 7,’ 20′, 32′ | 32 minutes |
| 5 | Max Morlock | West Germany | Turkey | 1954 | 13′, 41′, 53′ | 40 minutes |
| 6 | Just Fontaine | France | Paraguay | 1958 | 24′, 30′, 67′ | 43 minutes |
As you can see, the former Barcelona man has now cemented fourth spot in the list, behind Laszlo Kiss, Erich Probst and Sandor Kocsis.
Dembele – who almost joined Manchester United – has also become just the third player to score a hat-trick for France at the World Cup, along with Just Fontaine and Kylian Mbappe. The latter assisted the first of his two strikes against Norway.
Furthermore, the 29-year-old became the first player to score a hat-trick in the first half of a World Cup game in 32 years.
Oleg Salenko was the last player to do so, bagging three for Russia against Cameroon at the 1994 World Cup within 44 minutes of the 6-1 win.
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