England claimed third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France at Miami Stadium on Saturday.
The Three Lions produced a blistering first-half display, taking a commanding 4-0 lead before the break. Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute, while Ezri Konsa doubled England’s advantage in the 18th minute. Bukayo Saka then scored twice in the 37th and 45th minutes to put Thomas Tuchel’s side firmly in control.
France came out fighting after halftime, with Kylian Mbappe pulling one back in the 48th minute. Bradley Barcola added another six minutes later before Mbappe struck again in the 66th minute to reduce the deficit to 4-3 and set up a dramatic finale.
England regained breathing space in the 87th minute as Saka converted a penalty to complete his hat-trick and make it 5-3.
France responded through Ousmane Dembele deep into stoppage time to cut the score to 5-4, but England had the final say as Jude Bellingham scored moments later to wrap up a dramatic 6-4 victory.
The win secured third place for England, while Saka’s hat-trick crowned a brilliant individual display.
Despite the defeat, Mbappe reached another milestone by taking his World Cup tally to 22 goals, becoming the tournament’s all-time leading scorer. His brace also moved him to 10 goals at the 2026 World Cup, putting him two clear of Argentina captain Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race ahead of Sunday’s final against Spain.
