Norway chose to be “tactical” and rest ten of their players, including Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Ødegaard, while France, who were also through to the World Cup before the match, chose to win and fielded their best.
Norway’s national team manager Ståle Solbakken has been heavily criticized for his “tactics” that completely ruined the party here at home on the mountain. “When Erling Braut Haaland said before the game that he didn’t think much about it and thought that France would win both it and the tournament, we understand that the decision to field reserves in such a situation where we were qualified was made a long time ago.
Read: Why Norway rested ten players against France
Ståle Solbakken has clearly squeezed the doctrine: “Never change a winning team”.
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There was definitely no Viking Rowing last night after Norway lost 1 – 4 against France!
Match preference, result and goals – Les Bleus complete perfect group stage
France secured the top spot in Group I with a convincing 4-1 win over Norway at the Boston Stadium – and delivered one of their most complete performances of the World Cup so far.
Ousmane Dembélé was the big player of the evening. He scored a hat-trick in the first half, before Désiré Doué made it 4-1 at the end – ensuring a comfortable evening for Didier Deschamps’ men.
Despite the fact that Norway was already qualified for the knockout stages and rested several key players, the French were ruthless and rarely threatened. Only a short-lived Norwegian period gave hints that the game could be even.
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France stormed off
France came close to scoring in the first minute when Kylian Mbappé broke through and hammered a shot into the crossbar – Mathias Selvik had to make a brilliant save.
The warning was clear to Norway, and soon the punishment came. In the seventh minute, Mbappé hit a beautiful cross to Dembélé, who pushed into the box before sending a hard right-footed shot past Selvik to make it 1-0.
Norway struggled to handle the speed and movements of France’s attack, and the lead was doubled after 20 minutes. Once again, Mbappé was the assistant – he played through Dembélé despite a jersey holding from Leo Østigård. The PSG winger cut inwards and curled a magnificent shot into the far corner.
Hopes of a one-sided first half were briefly dashed – just one minute later, Andreas Schjelderup found Thelo Aasgaard, who calmly created space and knocked a low shot into the bottom corner. Reduced to 2-1.
France quickly restored control. Dembélé completed the hat-trick after 32 minutes when he received Aurélien Tchouaméni’s pass on the edge of the box. Once again, he was given far too much space – and he punished Norway with another beautiful finish past Selvik. 3–1.
Norway missed a penalty – and the chance was missed
Norway got a golden opportunity to get back in the game right after halftime. Oscar Bobb turned away from Theo Hernandez in the box and was felled by the French-back – referee Michael Oliver immediately pointed to the penalty mark.
But Jørgen Strand Larsen abused the chance. The penalty lacked punch and conviction, and Mike Maignan easily saved low left – thus keeping France’s two-goal lead.
That miss practically punctured Norway’s hopes. Although Bobb was still lively and created a chance for himself, the finish went straight to Maignan.
Doué crowned a comfortable victory
With the match already decided, France made several late substitutions – including resting Dembélé and Mbappé ahead of the knockout stages.
Norway pressed on, but struggled to create clear scoring chances, while France were still dangerous every time they attacked. Theo Hernandez shot over late on, and Bradley Barcola caused trouble on the left wing after coming on as a substitute.
The last glimpse came in injury time. Barcola sent in a tempting cross from the left, and substitute Désiré Doué rose up and headed the ball beautifully into the top right corner – to make it 4-1.
