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Fresh off his Ballon d'Or last summer, Ousmane Dembele was primed for a big 2026 FIFA World Cup with France.
Having won a second-straight Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain just weeks prior to the start of the tournament, Dembele was in electric form and part of the most potent attacking side in the world.
For the final game of Group I play, France needed only to draw with Norway to top the standings, but after the Vikings changed almost their entire lineup, Didier Deschamps smelled blood in the water and unleashed his multitude of stars.
The Sporting News brings you an overview of Dembele's display in the first half, which became one of the more memorable goal-scoring performances in World Cup history.
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Fastest World Cup hat-tricks
The quickest hat-trick in FIFA World Cup history — from the start of the game — was completed in 24 minutes by Erich Probst of Austria who did so in 1954 against Czechoslovakia.
Austria would win that match 5-0, en route to one of the weirdest World Cup performances in history. They finished second in their group behind Uruguay, before blasting Switzerland 7-5 in their quarterfinal meeting. Then, Austria were pummeled 6-1 by eventual champions West Germany in the semifinals, before beating Uruguay 3-1 in the third-place match.
Probst would score six goals in the tournament, finishing tied for second in the Golden Boot race, behind winner Sandor Kocsis of Hungary who scored a whopping 11 goals.
| Rank | Year | Team | Player | Opponent | Time |
| 1 | 1954 | Austria | Erich Probst | Czechoslovakia | 24' |
| 2 | 2026 | France | Ousmane Dembele | Norway | 32' |
| 3 | 1986 | England | Gary Lineker | Poland | 36' |
| 4 | 1970 | West Germany | Gerd Muller | Peru | 38' |
Ousmane Dembele scores second-fastest hat-trick in World Cup history
France superstar Dembele put himself in the conversation of World Cup greats when he bagged three goals in the first half of France's final group-stage match against Norway on June 26.
He first struck in the seventh minute when he was launched out of a cannon down the right flank on a diagonal ball from Kylian Mbappe, and he beat two defenders on the dribble to create a window to shoot.
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— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 26, 2026The second came in the 20th minute in very similar fashion, except instead of sprinting vertically down the right side of the penalty area, he cut inside on his left and fired into the back of the net.
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— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 26, 2026For the finishing touches on his triple, Dembele cropped up in the penalty area on the ball, and with an overlapping run from Michael Olise creating space between him and the defender, the PSG star unleashed with his left foot again for his 32nd-minute goal.
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— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 26, 2026
English (US)