One lapse, and you're the reason your country goes home.
Cape Verde's remarkable World Cup debut continues as they advance to knockouts, eliminating two-time champions Uruguay despite goalkeeper Fernando Muslera's costly error. France secured maximum points with a 4-1 thrashing of second-string Norway, with Dembele scoring one of the earliest hat-tricks in World Cup history.
- Cape Verde advanced to the knockout stage in their World Cup debut, eliminating two-time champion Uruguay
- Ousmane Dembele scored a hat-trick in 32 minutes, one of the earliest in World Cup history
- Rebin Sulaka received the earliest red card of the tournament after 13 minutes for Iraq
- France finished Group I with maximum nine points and 10 goals scored, zero conceded
- Senegal defeated Iraq 5-0 with Pape Gueye scoring twice off the bench
Uruguay crashed out of the World Cup as Spain won Group H, while debutant Cape Verde advanced to face Argentina. France dominated Norway 4-1 with Ousmane Dembele's hat-trick as group stage matches concluded.
The World Cup's group stage was closing out on Friday with a series of results that reshaped the tournament's landscape. Cape Verde, playing in their first World Cup ever, had already stunned everyone with draws in their opening matches. Against Saudi Arabia, they held firm for a goalless result that sent them through to the knockout rounds—a feat that would have seemed impossible weeks earlier. Their path to the next stage came at the direct expense of Uruguay, a two-time World Cup champion that crashed out of the tournament in humiliating fashion.
Spain's 1-0 victory over Uruguay in Guadalajara was decided by a single, devastating mistake. Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, at 40 years old a veteran of Uruguay's run to the 2010 semifinals, allowed a weak shot from Alex Baena to slip through his hands in the 42nd minute. The ball, arriving from a Marcos Llorente cross, dribbled over the line while Muslera watched helplessly. It was the kind of error that defines tournaments, the kind that ends careers in infamy. Uruguay's misery deepened when midfielder Manuel Ugarte suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the buildup to that very goal, stretchered off the field as his World Cup ended in pain. By the final whistle, defender Agustín Canobbio had been sent off for a wild lunge, and Marcelo Bielsa's squad was heading home without advancing. The internal tensions that had plagued Uruguay throughout the tournament—reports of clashes between Bielsa and star players like Federico Valverde over tactical decisions—had finally boiled over into elimination. Spain, meanwhile, advanced as group winners with a record that now stretched to 34 competitive games without defeat, though their attacking play remained labored and unconvincing compared to the scintillating football on display elsewhere in the tournament.
France, by contrast, looked every bit the tournament favorite. At Gillette Stadium near Boston, they dismantled a second-string Norway side 4-1, with Ousmane Dembele producing one of the most dominant individual performances of the group stage. The PSG forward, transformed into a Ballon d'Or winner after his coach Luis Enrique moved him into a central attacking role, scored three goals in the opening 32 minutes—one of the earliest hat-tricks in World Cup history. Dembele opened the scoring in the seventh minute, added a second on 20 minutes, and completed his trio just past the half-hour mark. Only Erich Probst of Austria, who scored three inside 24 minutes in 1954, had done it faster. Kylian Mbappé, France's captain and the player often tasked with carrying the team's offensive burden, provided the assist for the opening goal but largely ceded the spotlight to his club teammate. The victory gave France a perfect nine points from three matches, with 10 goals scored and none conceded. Desiré Doué added a fourth late in the game to seal the rout.
Norway's coach Stale Solbakken had made 10 changes to his starting lineup, resting key players including Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, and Alexander Sorloth after his team had already secured passage to the knockout stage with wins over Iraq and Senegal. The decision to bench Haaland, the Manchester City striker chasing the golden boot, meant football fans were denied the spectacle of watching two of the sport's biggest names go head-to-head. Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back for Norway early in the second half, and Jorgen Strand Larsen had a penalty saved, but France's dominance was never in serious doubt. The victory came with an emotional backdrop: France's coach Didier Deschamps, who will step down after 14 years in charge at the tournament's end, had returned to France to attend his mother's funeral and was absent from the sideline. He was due to rejoin the squad on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Iraq's World Cup campaign ended in catastrophe. Senegal, seeking to boost their chances of advancing as one of the eight best third-place finishers, demolished them 5-0 in a match that turned on a single moment of madness. Defender Rebin Sulaka, brought into the starting lineup by Iraq coach Graham Arnold, was sent off after just 13 minutes for fouling Sadio Mané when the Senegal forward was clear on goal. It was the earliest red card of the tournament so far, the fourth fastest in World Cup history. Playing with a man advantage, Senegal methodically picked Iraq apart. Ismaila Sarr scored in the 56th minute after a terrible error by former Manchester United player Zidane Iqbal gifted possession away. Then Pape Gueye, coming off the bench, scored twice in quick succession—a sublime curling effort from outside the box followed by a vicious half-volley—to make it 4-0. Iliman Ndiaye added a fifth with another long-range strike. Iraq finished without a single point, their World Cup campaign ending in ruin after an arduous qualifying journey. Arnold, the former Socceroos coach, could only lean on the dugout and shake his head as his team was dismantled. Senegal, with the best goal difference among the three-point teams, had positioned themselves well for a spot in the last 32.
As the group stage concluded, the shape of the knockout rounds was becoming clear. Cape Verde would face defending champions Argentina, a pairing that seemed almost scripted for its narrative improbability. France would take on a third-place finisher at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Spain, unbeaten and unscored upon but unconvincing in attack, would face Austria or Algeria in Los Angeles. The tournament's surprises were already mounting, and the real drama was only just beginning.
Notable Quotes
The biggest issue with this team is that we get very arrogant, very quickly. When they have the ball and you add up all the options, it looks really scary. But the problem will be when they don't have it.— ESPN journalist Julien Laurens on France's dominance
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How does a goalkeeper at the World Cup simply let a weak shot slip through his hands? That's not just a mistake—that's a career-defining moment.
Muslera was 40 years old, and he'd been through so much with Uruguay. But at that level, there's no margin for error. One lapse, one moment where your hands don't do what they're supposed to do, and you're the reason your country goes home. That's the weight of it.
Cape Verde had never been to a World Cup before. How does a team like that even get to the knockout stage?
They didn't try to be something they weren't. They drew their first two matches, then drew again against Saudi Arabia. Three draws, and suddenly they're through while a two-time champion is packing. It's not flashy, but it works. Sometimes survival is enough.
Dembele scored three goals in 32 minutes. Is that the kind of performance that wins tournaments?
It's the kind that makes you believe a team is dangerous. France looked almost bored at times—they had so many options, so much depth. When your third-choice attacking option can score a hat-trick, you're in a different category. But the journalist was right to note the concern: when they don't have the ball, that's when you'll find out who they really are.
Why would Norway rest Haaland in a match against France?
They were already through. Solbakken made 10 changes. It was pragmatic—protect your best players, avoid injuries, save them for the knockout stage. But it also meant the world didn't get to see what it wanted to see. That's the calculus of modern football.
Iraq's red card came at 13 minutes. How do you come back from that?
You don't, really. Not against a team like Senegal with momentum. One man down, one goal down, and then suddenly you're five goals down. The tournament was over before halftime.