With both sides making changes to their starting lineups, France's depth powered them to a 4-1 victory on Friday afternoon.
Norway made 10 changes to its starting XI that played against Senegal with Fredrik Aursnes being the only holdover. Patrick Berg got the armband and was the man in the middle for the Norweigians while Jørgen Strand Larsen started up top in place of Erling Haaland. The Crystal Palace striker was flanked by Oscar Bobb.
Leo Østigård anchored the backline while Egil Selvik got his first start in goal since a pre-World Cup friendly against Morocco. With the wholesale changes, the likes of Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa, Alexander Sørloth, and Julian Ryerson were on the bench to start the match.
France made changes but far fewer. Mike Maignan started in goal behind a backline that featured Jules Koundé and Dayot Upamecano were holdovers from the Iraq game. Maxence LaCroix and Theo Hernandez entered the lineup in favor of William Saliba and Lucas Digne. Aurélien Tchouaméni stepped in for Adrien Rabiot while Manu Koné stayed in the starting XI.
But the attack was largely the same with Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, and Michael Olise starting the match on the pitch. The only change was Bradley Barcola was sent to the sidelines in favor of Désiré Doué
Mbappe nearly opened the scoring less than 30 seconds into the game as he found space on the flank but his shot rocketed off the crossbar to the delight of Norwegian fans. In the fourth minute, France continued to pile on the pressure as Koné rocketed a shot on goal that Selvik parried away.
But Norway couldn't hold France off the scoresheet for long. Dembélé blasted a shot past Selvik in the sixth minute. The French forward executed a perfect ball fake that got the Norwegian defender off balance to create seperation and a chance on goal. The PSG forward was already gifted acres of space in the build-up to the goal and made Norway pay for gifting him the opportunity.
Strand Larsen had the first real chance for Norway in the 14th minute. Off a recycled corner, Østigård sent a ball into the box that found Strand Larsen with open space. The striker had a fantastic touch but launched the shot over the goal.
The Crystal Palace striker did a good job of putting pressure on his opponents. he was doing all the dirty work but failed to crucially find the back of the net to level the scoreline.
Dembélé's day only got better as Mbappé played him in on goal after getting dragged down by a Norwegian defender. The PSG winger moved centrally before bending a shot past Selvik to give France a 2-0 lead in the 20th minute.
But Norway would respond with a bang as off the restart, the Norwegian squad stormed up the pitch. Thelo Aasgarrd was played in on goal, juked his opponent with a body feint and calmly slotted away the first goal of the evening for Norway in the 21st minute.
Off the hydration break, Norway continued to pile on the pressure. Even though it was far from a first-rate side, they were playing at a first-rate level.
But Dembélé is inevitable.
The forward completed his first-half hattrick in the 32nd minute with what had become an all too familiar sight. The PSG man got onto his left foot and curled the ball into the back of the net with ease.
If it wasn't for Selvik, the scoreline would have been much worse. There were numerous moments where France was gifted opportunities in the final third but the goalkeepers crucial interventions prevented the match from becoming a rout. Doué nearly found a goal but Selvik pounced on the ball to keep the deficit at two goals.
After 45 minutes, Norway had a large hole to dig itself of but if anyone could, it was Haaland. The Norwegians made two changes from the jump as Marcus Pedersen and Morten Thorsby replaced Kristian Thorstvedt and Fredrik André Bjørkan.
It wouldn't take long for the tide to shift as Oscar Bobb forced a penalty as Theo Hernandez collided with the Fulham man in the 48th minute. Strand Larsen stepped to the spot looking to cut the deficit to a single goal. But the Crystal Palace striker executed a poorly taken penalty as it was more of a pass to Maignan than a well-taken shot.
Norway got another chance to cut France's lead in the 54th minute as Berg launched a looping corner into the box but Norway failed to take advantage of the opportunity. Mbappé nearly matched Dembélé skill in the 56th minute with a curling shot of his own but it was just a bit too high to find the back of the net.
France made two changes in the 65th minute as Dembélé and Olise were replaced by Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki. Norway also amde a change as Sondre Langås replaced Henrik Sælebakke Falchener.
Coming out of the hydration break, Norway attempted to claw its way back into the game. Bobb had acres of space to get in on goal but Maignan made a massive save to maintain the two goal lead.
Tchouaméni picked up a yellow card in the 74th minute after a poor tackle caught the referee's attention. In the 76th minute, Upamecano was replaced with Ibrahima Konaté.
Barcola nearly added a goal as he stormed down the flank but Selvik deflected the shot out of bounds in the 80th minute. Norway made its final changes as Jens Petter Hauge and Nusa repalced Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup in the 83rd minute. France brought on Malo Gusto and Jean-Phillipe Mateta replaced Mbappé and Koundé in the 87th minute.
The final nail in the coffin was a Doué headed in stoppage time,
With the win, France tops Group I and Norway finishes in second. Norway will face the Ivory Coast in the Round of 32.
