Boston (United States), June 27 -- It was billed as a battle between Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. In the end, neither found the scoresheet as Ousmane Dembele produced a first-half hat-trick in France's 4-1 win over Norway here .
The result secured France top spot in Group I and underlined the breadth of Didier Deschamps' resources.
Mbappe remained central to France's attack, striking the crossbar inside the opening minute and helping create the opening goal without adding to his four-goal tournament tally.
Haaland's role proved altogether different. Four days after scoring twice to fire Norway into the knockout stage, the Manchester City striker remained on the bench throughout, meaning the contest everyone had anticipated never tru...