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France wrapped up top spot in Group I with a 4-1 win over Norway, inspired by a first-half hat-trick from Ousmane Dembele, while Senegal kept their FIFA World Cup hopes alive with a 5-0 demolition of 10-man Iraq.
With both France and Norway already through to the Round of 32 before kickoff, the match determined which team would finish first in the group.
Pre-match expectations of a showdown between Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland faded after Norway coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to his starting line-up, leaving Haaland on the bench.
Dembele dazzles as France seal top spot
France quickly took advantage as Dembele opened the scoring in the seventh minute after Mbappe set him up inside the penalty area.
The Ballon d’Or winner doubled the lead in the 20th minute with a curling effort before Norway briefly responded through Thelo Aasgaard less than two minutes later.
Dembele completed his hat-trick in the 39th minute with another trademark left-foot finish, becoming the first player since Oleg Salenko in 1994 to score three first-half goals in a men’s World Cup match.
The treble, completed in just 32 minutes, also became the second-fastest World Cup hat-trick from kickoff, behind Austria’s Erich Probst in 1954.
Desire Doue added a fourth goal deep into stoppage time to complete another convincing performances by Didier Deschamps’ side.
France will now face one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams in Sweden, in the Round of 32, while Norway have been paired with Ivory Coast.
Senegal finish strongly to boost qualification hopes
Elsewhere, Senegal produced their best performance of the tournament by crushing Iraq 5-0 in Toronto to strengthen their chances of progressing as one of the best third-placed teams.
The Lions of Teranga took control after only four minutes when Abdoulaye Seck’s header deflected off Habib Diarra and found the net.
Iraq’s task became even more difficult nine minutes later after defender Rebin Sulaka was sent off for denying Sadio Mane a clear goalscoring opportunity following a VAR review.
Senegal eventually capitalised on their numerical advantage in the second half. Ismaila Sarr doubled the lead in the 56th minute before substitute Pape Gueye struck twice, including a superb long-range effort.
Iliman Ndiaye completed the rout late on as Senegal finished third in Group I with three points, moving into the top five among the best third-placed teams.
The emphatic victory keeps Senegal’s qualification hopes alive, although they must now rely on results in other groups to determine whether they advance to the Round of 32.