Hat-trick Dembele Bawa Prancis Hajar Norwegia 4-1, Pelatih Lawan Akui Rotasi Besar-besaran

Ousmane Dembele menjadi bintang kemenangan telak Prancis atas Norwegia dengan skor 4-1 dalam laga penyisihan grup Piala Dunia 2026 di Boston, Jumat (26/6). Penyerang sayap Paris Saint-Germain itu mencetak tiga gol di babak pertama, memastikan Les Bleus menguasai pertandingan sejak awal.

Prancis langsung menekan sejak menit pertama. Kylian Mbappe nyaris membuka skor pada detik ke-21, namun tendangannya membentur mistar gawang. Kebuntuan akhirnya pecah pada menit ketujuh saat Dembele memanfaatkan umpan Mbappe dan melepaskan tembakan kaki kanan keras yang tak mampu dihalau kiper Norwegia, Egil Selvik.

Dembele menggandakan keunggulan pada menit ke-20 melalui tembakan kaki kiri yang menerobos kawalan tiga pemain bertahan. Norwegia sempat memperkecil ketertinggalan lewat gol Thelo Aasgaard hanya 14 detik setelah kick-off babak kedua. Namun, Dembele melengkapi hat-trick-nya pada menit ke-32 dengan sepakan melengkung yang melewati empat bek lawan. Gol penutup Prancis lahir di masa injury time babak kedua melalui pemain pengganti, Desire Doue.

Norwegia sebenarnya mendapat peluang emas dari titik penalti pada menit ke-49 setelah Theo Hernandez melanggar Oscar Bobb. Namun, eksekusi Jorgen Strand Larsen berhasil digagalkan kiper Prancis, Mike Maignan.

Keputusan Kontroversial Solbakken

Pelatih Norwegia, Stale Solbakken, mengambil keputusan besar dengan mengistirahatkan sepuluh pemain utama, termasuk Erling Haaland dan Martin Odegaard. Langkah ini memicu protes dari penonton yang kecewa tidak menyaksikan duel Haaland versus Mbappe.

"This is simple," ujar Solbakken. Ia menjelaskan keputusan itu diambil demi menjaga kebugaran tim setelah mengevaluasi pertandingan sebelumnya. "We did a summary after Senegal [on Monday], and five or six players were very affected after 80 minutes of play. The entire defense and some midfielders were very affected."

Faktor jadwal padat juga menjadi pertimbangan. "We also know that from the Senegal game that Norway had the shortest window to play another match today," tambahnya. Solbakken menegaskan tidak menyesali keputusan tersebut demi ambisi jangka panjang. "We could have played a decent match today, but we want to win, and the situation is whether we might win, bearing in mind the situation and what about our readiness for the next game."

Keputusan itu juga berdasarkan rekomendasi tim medis. "So, it was a no-brainer on my part and also from the physio and health and medical and from some players themselves. They all said it would be difficult for many of them [to play]."

Solbakken mengaku memikirkan perasaan suporter. "The only consideration is taking the fans in mind. They would have wanted to see Erling and Martin [Odegaard], but it didn't take us any time to decide this." Namun, kedua pemain bintang mendukung strategi tim. "Erling and Martin are team players; they know what is best for the team. The fans want to see them, but hopefully, we can give them some good summer nights in the next few weeks."

Norwegia dipastikan finis sebagai runner-up Grup I dan akan menghadapi Pantai Gading di babak 32 besar. "We are not a naive country here just for fun. We want to stay here as long as we can, so it was a no-brainer," pungkas Solbakken.

Pengakuan Bek Norwegia

Bek kiri Norwegia, Fredrik Andre Bjorkan, yang menjalani debut Piala Dunia, mengakui ketangguhan Dembele. "It was really challenging against Dembele. If you give him too much space and time, he will punish you. That's what happened today. I'm a little bit disappointed I couldn't get closer to him and disturb him more. I wanted to make it more difficult for him."

Bjorkan memberikan pujian atas performa Dembele. "The things he does are amazing. You have to congratulate him. But as a defender, you always look at the ways you could have stopped him, and I think I should have got a little bit closer to him. Slowed him down a little bit earlier in the situations when he scores."

Pujian untuk Lini Depan Prancis

Solbakken menyebut lini depan Prancis sebagai yang terbaik di turnamen. "By far the best," katanya. Sementara itu, asisten pelatih Prancis, Guy Stephan, menanggapi kritik yang sempat menerpa Dembele sebelum pertandingan, termasuk dari legenda Prancis Bixente Lizarazu yang menulis "save private Dembele".

"Ousmane is a human being. Just like any human being, he can hear the criticism when it arrives," kata Stephan. Ia menambahkan bahwa fleksibilitas taktik berhasil menyatukan para pemain bintang di lini depan. "High-level players can play together. There is no issue in terms of a star or not star player. That is my personal opinion. When two, three, four players feel the same type of football, it is more beneficial for the team."

Perubahan posisi antara Michael Olise dan Dembele menjadi kunci. "There is not one on the right and one in the centre. Sometimes Michael will spend time on the right, but that doesn't mean he wasn't in the centre. The same for Ousmane. It is an organisation that is not necessarily in a fixed position. The same for Kylian. He is..." tutup Stephan.