Ousmane Dembélé says hat trick wasn't best 2026 World Cup performance
· Yahoo Sports
FOXBOROUGH, MA – Ousmane Dembélé powered France to a 4-1 victory over Norway on Friday, June 26 by notching a hat trick in the match's first 32 minutes.
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Even so, Dembélé didn't believe the showing was his best at the 2026 World Cup to date.
Dembélé expressed after the match that he was "happy" to log the 57th hat trick in the tournament's history.
"It was a singular moment and it was important for me," Dembélé told reporters in French.
Nonetheless, the 29-year-old opined he exhibited better form during France's 3-1 win over Senegal in the team's World Cup opener.
"The performance was good but I preferred my moments during the Senegal game, facing their line," Dembélé said. "I thought I was more influential and concentrated and there were things that went better in that game."
Dembélé played 80 minutes across France's World Cup-opening match against Senegal, logging only one shot while producing 0.03 expected goals.
By comparison, Dembélé turned all three of his shots against Norway into goals across his 65 minutes played. He completed his hat trick in just 32 minutes, making it the fastest hat trick logged by a starter at the tournament since Austria's Erich Probst in 1956.
The feat impressed Norway manager Ståle Solbakken, who credited Dembélé with scoring a couple of "world-class" goals during the match.
"When you score a hat trick so fast in the World Cup, obviously it’s a big, big, big thing," Solbakken told reporters in Norwegian.
And as Norway midfielder Patrick Berg explained, containing Dembélé — and the French offense as a whole — presented an extremely difficult challenge.
"Of course, we know that they have not only him. I would say almost four, five, six of the best attackers in the world at the moment," Berg explained. "We know every time they get the ball and, if they have space, they’re going to punish any team — not just us. It’s really difficult. I think we could have done better, no doubt about it."
With that praise in mind, it's fair to say Dembélé was simply being humble after his elite performance in France's win over Norway.
Now, as a result of Dembélé's heroics, France will remain undefeated heading into its first knockout stage game against Sweden.
Les Bleus will also get a key boost ahead of that contest. Long-time manager Didier Deschamps — who missed Friday's match after returning home following the death of his mother — is set to return, temporary replacement Guy Stephan announced.
"For Didier, we really wanted to be there and up to the task," Stephan said after the match. "He's coming back tomorrow. He'll be at the training in the afternoon, and we will prepare [for] the round of 32."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ousmane Dembélé says hat trick wasn't best 2026 World Cup performance