Ousmane Dembélé on scoring a hat-trick against Norway in the 2026 FIFA World Cup/Source: Sportsnet
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Claim: A viral post by DR Sports claims that Ousmane Dembélé became only the second player, after Lionel Messi, to score a hat-trick at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following France’s match against Norway.
Verdict: Misleading! While it is true that Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat-trick against Norway at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the claim that he is only the second player, after Lionel Messi, to achieve the feat is misleading. Tournament records show that Jonathan David of Canada had already scored a hat-trick earlier in the tournament, meaning Dembélé was the third, and not the second player after Messi, to achieve this feat.
Full Text
A Facebook page, DR Sports, published a graphic claiming: “Osman Dembele becomes only the second player after Lionel Messi to bag a hat-trick at the 2026 World Cup.”
The post compares Lionel Messi’s hat-trick against Algeria with Dembélé’s three goals against Norway and suggests that only these two players have recorded hat-tricks at the tournament. The post was also shared on Threads with the same caption and content. See here and here also.
Given the post’s reach and the heightened public attention at the World’s biggest football stage, DUBAWA verified whether the statistical claim is accurate.
Verification
DUBAWA reviewed the full tournament records, including reports from reputable sports media covering France’s 4-1 victory over Norway.
Report confirms that Ousmane Dembélé scored a first-half hat-trick, helping France secure top spot in their World Cup group.
However, further review of tournament records and football reports shows that Jonathan David had already registered a hat-trick earlier in the 2026 FIFA World Cup: several sports outlets covering the tournament list Messi, Jonathan David, and Dembélé among the hat-trick scorers. See here and here. David’s hat-trick was scored on 18th June, while Dembélé’s own was on the 26th of June.
This means Dembélé did not become the second player after Messi to score a hat-trick at the tournament. Rather, he became one of at least three players to achieve the feat.
Conclusion
The viral claim is misleading. Although Ousmane Dembélé did score a hat-trick against Norway during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he was not the second player after Lionel Messi to do so. Tournament records confirm that Jonathan David had already recorded a hat-trick earlier in the competition. Based on verified records, Messi, David, and Dembélé are among the confirmed hat-trick scorers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making the DR Sports claim inaccurate on the available evidence.
