Ousmane Dembélé put in a memorable performance at the 2026 World Cup. The French striker shone against Norway with a spectacular first-half hat-trick.

It took the most recent winner of the ‘Ballon d'Or’ just 25 minutes to join Lionel Messi and Jonathan David as the only players to have taken the ball home so far in this tournament.

However, his display was no mere flash in the pan. The French forward achieved three significant World Cup milestones in the blink of an eye.

A Ballon d'Or record

Firstly, Dembélé became only the fourth player in the history of the World Cup to score a hat-trick whilst holding the title of Ballon d'Or.

This feat has only been matched by three absolute legends of world football in the past:

  • 1966: Eusébio (Portugal) v North Korea (scored four goals)

  • 1982: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany) v Chile

  • 2018: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) v Spain

  • 2026: Ousmane Dembélé (France) v Norway

The second-fastest hat-trick in history

For his part, Dembélé completed his hat-trick in 25 minutes, recording the second-fastest hat-trick in World Cup history.

Only the Austrian Erich Probst was quicker than him, having scored a hat-trick in 24 minutes against Czechoslovakia at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.

With these figures, here are the top five fastest hat-tricks in World Cup history:

  1. 24' – Erich Probst (Austria, 1954 vs. Czechoslovakia)
  2. 25' – Ousmane Dembélé (France, 2026 vs. Norway)
  3. 35' – Gary Lineker (England, 1986 vs. Poland)

Ending a 32-year drought

Scoring three goals in a World Cup match is difficult. Scoring them all before half-time is an absolute rarity.

With his performance against the Scandinavians, Dembélé became the first player to score a hat-trick in the first half of a World Cup match since 1994.

The last player to have achieved this feat in the first 45 minutes was Russia’s Oleg Salenko, on his historic five-goal afternoon against Cameroon at the World Cup in the United States.

With this victory (4-1) against Norway, France have secured top spot in Group I and will have to wait until the end of the third matchday to find out who their next opponent will be.

The French side once again demonstrated their attacking prowess and are emerging as one of the favourites to win the 2026 World Cup.

Will this run of form from the most recent winners of the ‘Ballon d'Or’ be enough to see them crowned champions?

All remains to be seen in this thrilling World Cup...