Ousmane Dembélé grabbed his first World Cup hat-trick in a 4-1 victory over Norway, and is proof that there is more to the France attack than just Kylian Mbappé.
A clinical French performance, with Ousmane Dembélé taking over the spotlight in a 4-1 victory over Norway, the 29-year-old scoring a first-half hat-trick. The conversations have been about Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise, but now the talk will turn to Dembélé.
France's attack is a threat to any side in the tournament, with goals able to come from any one of their attacking players and not just their captain, as Dembélé showed against Norway.
The Ousmane Dembélé show
Dembélé has been a different player since Luis Enrique arrived at PSG. Ever since he was used as a centre-forward in the Mbappé role, he's been more determined and has shown renewed energy.
33 goals in his first season with Enrique resulted in a Champions League winners' medal and the 2025 Ballon d'Or. However, despite his renewed success at club level, there have been questions over when he would show up for the national team, with a record of eight goals and 61 assists going into the game against Norway.
Dembélé's goal against Iraq was his first in 20 major tournament appearances, but now the PSG version — the man who had won back-to-back Champions League finals — showed up and showed out.
Any time he had space, he was scoring first time from outside the box, making it difficult for goalkeepers and defenders to read. There was no telling which direction he was going with his shots, either left or right.
Three first-half goals made it the second-earliest hat-trick in World Cup history, the first being Erich Probst for Austria against Czechoslovakia in 1954.
Dembélé cements France as favourites
If an in-form Olise and Mbappé were not enough, adding Dembélé to the conversation about the number of goalscorers France have at their disposal further cements their status as favourites to win the tournament.
The timing could not have been better for Dembélé to bring his club form into the tournament, with the knockout stages soon to begin. Teams will have to come up with a near-perfect strategy to avoid shipping goals to these three players, particularly Dembélé, given his range from outside the box.
The odds of France going all the way look extremely good, particularly given their attacking strength.
