Norway rest Haaland, France cruise to 4-1 win in Boston

Norway left Erling Haaland and nine other first-team players out of the starting lineup, and France turned the opening into a 4-1 win at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Ståle Solbakken called the decision a “no-brainer” after medical tests showed fatigue across his squad, and Norway’s shortest recovery window came after its match against Senegal on Monday.

Both Norway and France had already secured places in the knockout stage, so the Group I meeting was about more than the scoreline. It became a clear test of whether resting stars before a bigger knockout challenge is now an accepted trade-off at the international level, and Norway paid the price for the gamble with a heavy defeat that left the team second in the group.

The reaction inside the stadium made the stakes plain. After the lineup was announced, frustrated fans chanted, “We want Haaland.” The Norway striker stayed on the bench for the full 90 minutes, so the much-hyped Haaland versus Kylian Mbappé matchup never materialized on the field.

France made the most of Norway’s reshuffled side. Ousmane Dembélé scored a first-half hat-trick, and FIFA described it as the second-fastest hat-trick in World Cup history and the first in the first half of a World Cup match since Oleg Salenko in 1994. France’s win also completed a perfect group stage, with three victories from three for the first time since 1998.

Norway’s broader tournament picture remains tied to Haaland’s output. UEFA noted that he had scored four goals in Norway’s opening two World Cup games before being rested against France. In qualifying, Haaland scored 16 goals to finish as the top scorer globally, underlining how much of Norway’s attacking load falls on one player.

Solbakken said Haaland is an “easy” and “easy-going superstar” to coach, a useful description for a team still measuring its depth beyond its central striker. Norway’s return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence has already ended its long wait for the tournament, but its best finish remains the round of 16 in 1998. After finishing second in Group I, Norway moved on to face Côte d’Ivoire in the Round of 32.