Dembélé’s hat-trick rewrites Ballon d’Or race in one wild half

France forward Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat-trick inside 24 minutes against Norway’s B team, setting a record pace for the fastest World Cup hat-trick since 1954. The performance came in a chaotic opening 20 minutes that saw three goals before Dembélé’s intervention. PSG’s Dembélé opened the scoring with two first-half strikes, putting Mbappé’s side ahead before Norway pulled one back. Norway’s Thelo Aasgard capitalised on Bayern Munich’s Upamecano and Tchouaméni with a composed finish past Maignan to halve the deficit. Dembélé restored the three-goal lead with his third, completing the fastest World Cup hat-trick since Erich Probst in 1954, when the Austrian scored three in 24 minutes. The Frenchman’s performance has now placed him second on the list of fastest World Cup hat-trick scorers, leapfrogging Gerd Müller. Dembélé’s Champions League-winning form appears to be carrying over into international duty, with the PSG attacker dominating Norway’s B team. Norway fielded a heavily rotated squad, yet still managed to register a goal against France’s first-choice goalkeeper Maignan. The match saw France’s usual attacking trio of Mbappé, Dembélé and Griezmann start together, underlining the depth of Didier Deschamps’ options.

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Dembélé’s hat-trick capped a surreal first half that included three goals in the opening 20 minutes, a pace rarely seen in international football. The French forward’s clinical finishing and movement left Norway’s defence exposed, while his third goal underlined his predatory instincts. Norway’s response, though, showed resilience, with Aasgard’s goal briefly shifting momentum before Dembélé’s decisive intervention. The match served as a reminder of France’s attacking firepower, even against a Norway side missing key players. With the Ballon d’Or defence in his sights, Dembélé’s performance has intensified the race, especially after his Champions League-winning displays with PSG. The Frenchman now sits just behind Erich Probst in the record books, a position that underscores the significance of his achievement. Didier Deschamps’ side will hope to carry this momentum into their next fixtures, with Dembélé’s form a major asset.