Ousmane Dembele made World Cup history with a sensational first-half hat-trick against Norway, leading France at the moment to a dominant victory in their final Group I match.
The French winger needed just 32 minutes to score three times, producing one of the fastest hat-tricks ever recorded at a men’s World Cup. An amazing achievement.
The performance also put him in exclusive company by achieving something neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo accomplished during their legendary World Cup careers.
Dembele joins exclusive World Cup history in France vs Norway
According to statistics compiled by Alexis Martin-Tamayo Blazquez, better known as MisterChip, Ousmane Dembele registered the second-fastest hat-trick in FIFA World Cup history.
Only Austria’s Erich Probst reached three goals faster, doing so after 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia at the 1954 World Cup. The fastest World Cup hat-tricks are now:
- Erich Probst (Austria) – 24′ vs Czechoslovakia (1954)
- Ousmane Dembele (France) – 32′ vs Norway (2026)
- Gary Lineker (England) – 35′ vs Poland (1986)
- Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 38′ vs Bulgaria (1970)
- Gustav Wetterström (Sweden) – 44′ vs Cuba (1938)
Something Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never achieved in World Cup
Ousmane Dembele’s feat is even more remarkable considering that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo ever scored a hat-trick in the first-half at a FIFA World Cup.
Both icons have produced unforgettable moments across multiple editions of the tournament, but neither managed to find the net three times so early in a single World Cup match. Dembele has now accomplished that milestone in spectacular fashion, adding another memorable chapter to France’s World Cup history.
