France’s Defense Looks Wobbly Even as Dembélé Erupts and Mbappé Plays Hero Without Scoring

The number that jumps off the page from France’s 4-1 win over Norway is Ousmane Dembélé’s hat trick. The number that should worry Didier Deschamps is 1. As in one goal conceded against a Norwegian B team, plus a penalty saved by Mike Maignan that could have made things interesting. France topped their group, secured a stay in the New York-Philadelphia-Boston corridor for the knockout rounds, and gave Dembélé the kind of breakout game he’s been hunting for years. But the defensive questions that dogged them before the tournament are still there.

Dembélé Finally Looks Like Himself

It took him 20 matches to score his first major tournament goal. It took him 32 minutes to score the next three. Dembélé cut in from the right, finished with both feet, and capped one of them with a team move that involved every French player on the pitch. The guy who won a Ballon d’Or has been missing for France in big moments. Against Iraq he got the monkey off his back. Against Norway, he took the damn thing and threw it in the river. Four goals in two games, back-to-back starts after a season where he couldn’t stay on the field consistently. That matters for a team that needs all the firepower it can get.

Mbappé Didn’t Score and Nobody Cared

Erling Haaland never left the bench for Norway. Kylian Mbappé hit the crossbar in the first 20 seconds and then basically became a really expensive assist machine. Two helpers for Dembélé, a couple of sprint-back defensive recoveries, pressing that made Norway’s second string uncomfortable. It wasn’t a stat-sheet game for him. But it was a captain’s game. The narrative around Mbappé is always about goals, because that’s what superstars get judged on. But he tracked back, he created space, and he reminded everyone that you don’t need to score to dominate. That’s a useful thing for France to have as the knockout rounds get real.

The Backline Still Has Holes

Dayot Upamecano looked shaky. That’s not a sentence anyone expected to write a year ago. Jules Koundé still hasn’t shown he deserves the starting spot. Théo Hernandez gave away a dumb penalty in the second half with a lazy challenge. Norway’s goal, brilliantly taken by Thelo Aasgaard, came after static defending where even Dembélé didn’t bother tracking back. Maignan saved the penalty and made another big stop after the defense got split open again, which is good for his confidence after his own rough patch. But France’s attack can score four goals a game. Can their defense hold when they face a team that actually has its first-choice XI on the field? That’s the question nobody in the French camp wants to answer out loud right now.