Ousmane Dembélé rocketed up the World Cup goal-scoring charts on Friday with a hat trick as France demolished Norway 4-1 in Massachusetts.
Dembélé opened his account in the seventh minute after taking a pass from skipper Kylian Mbappé.
The duo repeated the trick after 20 minutes but France were pegged back instantly when Thelo Aasgaard slotted a shot past the France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
But that was as good as it got for the Scandinavians. Dembélé added his third of the game and fourth of the 2026 tournament after 32 minutes.
His Paris Saint-Germain teammate Désiré Doué added the gloss in second half stoppage time.
Norway coach leaves Erling Haaland on bench
Stale Solbakken said his second-string team deserved credit for their fighting spirit as the knockout stage looms.
"It goes very fast when we lose the ball a few times," said Solbakken who made 10 changes for the game.
"Offensively, we created chances throughout the whole game, so the boys should have credit for that.
"It was not only in the second half that we created chances, we created big chances."
Norway finished second in the group on six points and will play Cote d'Ivoire in the last 32 in Dallas on 30 June.
France will take on one of the eight best third-placed teams.
Senegal overwhelm Iraq
Senegal thrashed Iraq 5-0 to maintain their slender hopes of qualifying for the last 32 as one of the eight best third placed teams.
The West Africans struck in the fourth minute. Habib Diarra got a touch on Abdoulaye Seck’s header to send the ball over the Iraq keeper Ahmed Basil.
More trouble followed for Iraq when defender Rebin Sulaka pulled a goalward-bound Sadio Mane down on the edge of the box.
After a check with the video assistants, referee Anthony Taylor dismissed Sulaka.
Senegal exploit advantage
Senegal made the extra man count in the second half.
Ismaila Sarr bagged his fourth goal at a World Cup to become his country's leading scorer in the tournament. Substitute Pape Gueye fired in two goals from distance.
Iliman Ndiaye added another long-range strike to cap off Senegal’s five-star performance.
Senegal finished third in Group I with three points, behind France and Norway. Iraq finished fourth with zero points.
(With newswires)
