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Ousmane Dembele scored a first-half hat-trick to send France into the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 4-1 win over Norway on Friday, while Senegal stayed alive in the tournament by routing 10-man Iraq 5-0 in the other Group I match.
France finished top of the group, Norway advanced as runners-up, and third-placed Senegal must now wait for results elsewhere to learn whether it secures one of the tournament's best third-place spots. Iraq exited the competition after finishing bottom.
France took control early at Boston Stadium in the United States as Dembele struck in the seventh minute after cutting inside and curling a shot into the far corner.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward added goals in the 20th and 32nd minutes, completing the second-fastest hat-trick in FIFA World Cup history in 32 minutes, behind Austria's Erich Probst in 1954. It was also the third hat-trick of this year's tournament after Lionel Messi's for Argentina against Algeria and Jonathan David's for Canada against Qatar.
Norway responded quickly through Thelo Aasgaard, who pulled one back in the 21st minute after capitalizing on a defensive lapse.
The Norwegians had a chance to close the gap early in the second half when Theo Hernandez brought down Oscar Bobb in the penalty area, but Jorgen Strand Larsen's spot kick was saved after being struck too close to the goalkeeper.
Desire Doue added France's fourth goal with a stoppage-time header to seal the 4-1 victory.
France advanced as Group I winners and is set to face Sweden in the Round of 32, while Norway will take on the Ivory Coast.
At Toronto Stadium in Canada, Senegal kept its World Cup campaign going with a dominant 5-0 victory over Iraq.
Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the fourth minute from Abdoulaye Seck's headed pass before Iraq was reduced to 10 men in the 13th minute. Defender Rebin Sulaka was initially shown a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor for bringing down Sadio Mane, but the booking was upgraded to a red after a VAR review.
Despite the dismissal, Iraq limited Senegal to a one-goal lead at halftime.
The Lions of Teranga then pulled away after the break. Ismaila Sarr doubled the lead in the 56th minute, becoming Senegal's all-time leading World Cup scorer with his fourth tournament goal, moving ahead of Papa Bouba Diop.
Substitute Papa Gueye came off the bench to score twice from long range in the 59th and 71st minutes before Iliman Ndiaye curled home another strike in the 82nd to complete the rout.
The victory made Senegal the first African nation to score five goals in a FIFA World Cup match. The team finished third in Group I and remains in contention for the Round of 32, where England could be its opponent if it qualifies.
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