France perfect in group play, Spain advances as Uruguay exits

Ousmane Dembélé scored in the 7th, 20th and 32nd minutes as France routed Norway 4-1 in Boston to finish Group I with nine points from three wins. Désiré Doué added the fourth in stoppage time, and Mike Maignan saved Jørgen Strand Larsen’s second-half penalty to preserve the margin.

The match had been framed as a showdown between Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, but Haaland started on the bench and France never let Norway settle. By halftime, Dembélé’s hat trick had already given France a 3-0 lead. France closed group play as winners for only the second time in its World Cup history. Norway still advanced as Group I runners-up with six points, while France moved on with a provisional next-round tie against Sweden.

Spain advanced in Guadalajara, where Álex Baena’s 42nd-minute strike gave Luis de la Fuente’s side a 1-0 win over Uruguay at Estadio Akron. The result left Spain atop Group H with seven points.

Muslera tried to gather Baena’s shot with both hands, but the ball slipped through and Spain took the lead. The veteran goalkeeper asked to come off at halftime after the error, and Uruguay finished the group stage with two points from three matches, no victories and elimination before the knockout rounds. Uruguay entered the tournament as a bicampeón mundial and, by FIFA ranking, was the highest-ranked side to go out at that stage.

Marcelo Bielsa accepted full responsibility for the collapse and said he had left nothing good for Uruguayan soccer during his tenure.