Ousmane Dembele recorded one of the fastest hat-tricks in World Cup history on Friday, as the Ballon d’Or winner led France to a commanding 4-1 victory over a heavily rotated Norway side, with Erling Haaland watching from the bench.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward opened the scoring in the seventh minute at Gillette Stadium near Boston, added a second in the 20th minute, and restored France’s two-goal cushion in the 32nd minute after Thelo Aasgaard had briefly pulled one back for Norway.

The only player to complete a hat-trick earlier in a World Cup match is Erich Probst, who netted three within the first 24 minutes for Austria against Czechoslovakia in 1954.

Dembele now has four goals in the tournament, having also scored in Monday’s 3-0 win over Iraq, and his performance may help ease the burden on captain Kylian Mbappe to always be France’s match-winner.

Desire Doue added a late fourth, securing a perfect group-stage record of nine points for France, who scored 10 goals across their three matches and finished as Group I winners. They will now remain in the northeastern United States for a last-32 tie against a third-place finisher at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey next Tuesday.

It was an emotional day for Les Bleus, who played without coach Didier Deschamps after he returned to France to attend his mother’s funeral. Deschamps, who will step down at the end of the World Cup after 14 years in charge, is expected to rejoin the squad on Saturday.

Norway, who also saw Jorgen Strand Larsen have a penalty saved, advanced in second place with six points, their progression already secured before this fixture thanks to wins over Iraq and Senegal. That explains why coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to his starting lineup following the 3-2 victory over Senegal. Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard, and striker Alexander Sorloth were among those rested, with Fredrik Aursnes the only player retained from the previous match. Norway’s regulars are expected to return for their next-round clash against Côte d’Ivoire in Dallas next Tuesday.

France were without Arsenal defender William Saliba, who was rested with a sore back, so Maxence Lacroix of Crystal Palace replaced him. Doue, Theo Hernandez, and Aurelien Tchouameni all returned to the lineup, while Dembele and Mbappe both kept their places, with the latter winning his 101st cap and looking to add to his 16 World Cup goals. But it was Dembele, a teammate of Mbappe’s in France’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad, who stole the headlines with his brilliant hat-trick.

Mbappe released the 29-year-old for the early opener, as Dembele cut in from the right, dropped a shoulder and went back onto his right foot before firing across goalkeeper Egil Selvik and in.

Dembele was transformed into a Ballon d’Or winner after Luis Enrique, his coach at PSG, moved him from the wing into a central role. But he caused havoc here, coming in from the right flank, scoring his second as he cut infield and curled a low shot on his left foot into the far corner.

Aasgaard pulled one back straight from the restart with a low strike past goalkeeper Mike Maignan, with the French defence having switched off. But Dembele curled in his team’s third, again on his left foot and into the same bottom corner, albeit this time from inside the area. Three goals in the space of 25 first-half minutes is not the fastest hat-trick at a World Cup — that record remains with Probst.