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France’s Ousmane Dembélé scored the second-fastest hat trick in World Cup history with three goals in 32 minutes against Norway on Friday.
Dembélé scored his three goals across 26 minutes, as his first came just minutes into the game with a slick right-footed shot.
Less than 14 minutes later, he added a second. And then in the 32nd minute, he made it three.
Erich Probst is the only player to score a hat trick faster than Dembélé. And he did it 72 years ago for Austria. Probst scored his three goals in 24 minutes in his team’s win over Czechoslovakia.
Dembélé, the reigning men’s Ballon d’Or winner for the best player in soccer, is now right on the heels of Lionel Messi and tied with his France teammate Kylian Mbappé in the race for the 2026 Golden Boot.

Messi, who is set to play his third game of the tournament on Saturday night, has five goals through four games. Dembélé, Mbappé, Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior and Norway’s Erling Haaland are tied in second with four goals.
Haaland didn’t start on Friday for Norway as the team made 10 changes. While Norway and France were meeting for first place in Group I, both teams were already safely into the knockout rounds as the group’s top two teams. That guarantee was clearly enough for Norway, who would play Ivory Coast if it finishes second in the group while the group winner will play a third-place team in the Round of 32.
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