PLAYER RATINGS | Norway 1-4 France: Ousmane Dembélé hat-trick seals top spot for Les Bleus

PLAYER RATINGS | Norway 1-4 France: Ousmane Dembélé hat-trick seals top spot for Les Bleus France sealed top spot in their World Cup group by beating a second-string Norway side in Boston on Friday. Ousmane Dembélé’s first-half hat-trick was enough to pull Les Bleus clear before they saw out the result in the second half, with Désiré Doué adding a fourth in stoppage time. The match Les Bleus were treated to a pleasant surprise in the build-up to their final group stage match, as Norway opted to field a second-string side, notably without top scorer Erling Haaland. It had been an emotionally-charged week for the squad, as Didier Deschamps flew back to France to attend his mother’s funeral and left long-time assistant Guy Stéphan to take charge. The squad were denied the chance to show their support for their head coach, though, as FIFA had denied the FFF’s request to wear armbands during the match. On the pitch, Les Bleus turned their focus to securing top spot in the group, sparing themselves an extra six thousand miles of travel over the course of the knockout stage. Five changes were made from the victory over Iraq , with Maxence Lacroix notably making his World Cup debut and Désiré Doué returning to the attack. France, playing in green, announced their intentions early on as Kylian Mbappé raced through and hit the bar just twenty seconds into the match. The attacks continued down the right wing in the ensuing minutes, with Les Bleus evidently targeting the substitute right-back Fredrik Bjørkan. It would be a matter of minutes before they eventually opened this scoring. After the ball was won back by Manu Koné, Ousmane Dembélé was found again in space on the right wing by Mbappé. The reigning Ballon d’Or recipient first cut inside, then came onto his right boot before unleashing an emphatic shot past Selvik. Norway nearly bounced back soon afterwards, with the ball falling to Jørgen Strand Larsen in front of goal after a mix-up in the France defence. The Crystal Palace striker, facing his club teammate (for now), sent the ball well over, though. France’s second goal came from the same combination as the first. On the counter-attack, Kylian Mbappé managed to find Dembélé on the wing again just as he was being pulled down. This time, the Paris Saint-Germain man stayed on his left foot to fire a similarly powerful shot past the goalkeeper from the edge of the box.  Les Bleus would concede straight from the restart, as Thelo Aasgaard dummied Upamecano and caught Maignan by surprise to finish off a quick move from the Norwegians. A further scare came after the hydration break as Bjørkan broke through down the left and sent a low cross in which the Milan shot-stopper initially struggled to keep in his grasp.  Dembélé would complete his hat-trick soon aftwards with another curled left-footer, easing the growing nerves in the French backline in the preceding minutes. The cracks in the defence were on display again at the start of the second half, as Théo Hernandez flagrantly brought down Oscar Bobb in the penalty box. Mike Maignan was nevertheless able to save Strand Larsen’s ensuing spot-kick to keep the two-goal lead intact. From then on, the Norway chances were few and far between. Les Bleus were content to sit back and hit on the counter-attack, although Kylian Mbappé was unable to keep his efforts on target. Michael Olise’s free-kick on the hour mark found Maxence Lacroix at the back post, but the centre-back’s effort could only find the side netting. Little changed in the dynamic in the match from them on. Les Bleus’ attacking quartet showed little incisive edge while the midfield pivot looked increasingly imbalanced. A string of defensive errors, not least from Jules Koundé and Upamecano’s misplaced passes, would have gifted a stronger Norway side a chance to get back into the match. France did manage to find the back of the net again at the very end of the half, as Désiré Doué headed in Bradley Barcola’s cross from the left wing in stoppage-time. France player ratings Mike Maignan, 7 Jules Koundé, 4  – Replaced by Malo Gusto at the end of the match. Dayot Upamecano, 4 – An uncharacteristically poor showing from the Bayern Munich defender, who often struggled under pressure from the Norway attackers when bringing the ball out. The 27-year-old also lost several of his duels, and was notably beaten by an Aasgaard dummy for Norway’s goal. Replaced by Ibrahima Konaté for the final fifteen minutes. Maxence Lacroix, 6 Théo Hernandez, 4 Manu Koné, 7 Aurélien Tchouaméni, 6 Ousmane Dembélé, 9  – The Paris Saint-Germain forward has dispelled the concerns which had emerged after a shaky first match, scoring virtually the same goal three times in the space of half an hour. Having gone goalless in the last two World Cups he played in, Dembélé now has four in the space of five days. Replaced by Bradley Barcola halfway through the second half. Michael Olise, 6  – Replaced by Rayan Cherki with 25 minutes remaining. Désiré Doué, 5 Kylian Mbappé, 7  – The captain did not get on the scoresheet this time, but he did provide two well-found assists for Dembélé. He continued to drop back and defend when needed, impressing in an all-round role involving more than just his goalscoring exploits. Replaced by Jean-Philippe Mateta at the end of the match. GFFN |  Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from Boston Stadium