Today, on June 27, the third round matches of the group stage of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in the United States concluded. In them, France secured a place in the playoffs with a big victory, while Cape Verde, participating in the World Cup for the first time, achieved a historic result.
In the match of Group I, held in Foxborough, Massachusetts, France defeated Norway 4-1. The hero of the match was Ousmane Dembélé, who scored a hat-trick in the 7th, 20th, and 32nd minutes. The fourth goal for the French was scored by Désiré Doué in the 90+4th minute. Norway's only goal was scored by Tello Osgord in the 21st minute.
In the 50th minute of the match, French goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved a penalty taken by Jorgan Larsen, preventing a goal for his team.
France head coach Didier Deschamps did not participate in the match due to personal reasons. Earlier, there were reports that he returned to France due to the death of his mother. In his place, assistant coach Guy Stéphan led the team in this match.
After this victory, France took first place in the group with 9 points and advanced to the Round of 16. Norway, with 6 points, kept second place and will face Côte d'Ivoire in the first round of the playoffs on June 30.
In Group H, Cape Verde played a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia and qualified for the World Cup playoffs for the first time in their history.
Cape Verde, making their debut in the World Cup, finished the group stage with 3 points. Notably, the team ended all three matches with draws and advanced to the next stage without winning a single match. In previous rounds, they drew 0-0 with Spain and 2-2 with Uruguay.
In another match of the group, Spain defeated Uruguay 1-0 and took first place with 7 points. Although Uruguay and Saudi Arabia both collected 2 points, Uruguay finished third and Saudi Arabia fourth based on goal difference. Uruguay left the tournament as they could not qualify among the best third-placed teams.
Now Cape Verde will face the reigning world champion Argentina in the first round of the playoffs. The match will take place on July 4 in Miami, Florida, USA.
Spain, on the other hand, will face the second-place finisher of Group J — either Austria or Algeria — in a Round of 16 match on July 2 in Inglewood, California.
