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World Cup: Dembéle hat-trick sees France finish top, Senegal bolster qualification hopes

France ensured that they finished top of Group I in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a resounding win over Norway, whilst Senegal are almost assured to progress thanks to a big win over Iraq.
L. ENTWISTLE
Published on 06/26/2026 at 22:00
3-minute read
Doué celebrates netting his first goal of the World Cup

France ensured that they finished top of Group I in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a resounding win over Norway, whilst Senegal are almost assured to progress thanks to a big win over Iraq.

France 4-1 Norway

There was a notable absence on the touchline for this game. Didier Deschamps had travelled back to France in order to attend the funeral of his mother, who passed away earlier this week. 

Instead, it was Guy Stéphan who was in the dugout for Les Bleus. There was still plenty on the line. Erling Haaland joked that he didn't care too much for the game against France, who he saw as favourites, not only for this game, but indeed the entire competition. 

This was a fixture, however, which drew great interest: Haaland v Kylian Mbappé, it was billed. The former did not feature, however, as Norway opted to rotate, given that their qualification was already secured. 

It was Ousmane Dembélé who excelled in this game. The Paris Saint-Germain forward finished from a brilliant Mbappé ball who finished from inside the box. He doubled his account with a long-range curled effort soon after, but just seconds later, Thelo Aasgaard reduced the deficit to just one goal with a smart finish.

But by 32 minutes, Dembélé had completed his hat-trick with another exquisite curled finish. Jorgen Strand Larsen missed a penalty just moments into the second half, but having ridden a brief wave of pressure, it was Les Bleus who seized the upper-hand once more and added to their lead through Desiré Doué. The score would finish 4-1, with France's progression assured.

Senegal 5-0 Iraq

Pape Thiaw sought to stress that Senegal's chances were still alive. For the first time in a World Cup, Senegal had failed to win any of their first two games. They ran Les Bleus close in their opener and only lost against Norway by a single goal. 

There were positives in those performances, but that would count for nothing if there wasn't a result to boot against Iraq. The Middle Eastern nation weren't mathematically assured of exiting the competition at the Group Stage, but their inferior goal difference heading into the game (-6) always made this an uphill task; Senegal's goal difference, for comparison, stood at -3 going into the game, although the position would be decided by head-to-head, not goal difference. 

A strong win for Senegal, by a two or three-goal margin, and they would be confident of progression to the next stage. They would exceed that. Habib Diarra gave Seneal the lead in just the fourth minute. Rebin Sulaka's red card for Iraq would make the African side's job a lot easier. 

The goals would flow in the second half, as they had to if they wished to progress. Ismaila Sarr doubled the advantage and Pape Gueye netted moments later before doubling his advantage in the 71st minute. Former Marseille forward Iliman Ndiaye rounded out the scoring. Senegal's progression is all-but assured.

READ MORE

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