England Defeat France 6-4 to Finish Third as Saka Nets Hat-trick, Mbappe Sets World Cup Goals Record
England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France on Saturday in Miami, as Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick and Kylian Mbappe became the tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer.
The entertaining third-place playoff produced 10 goals, with Jude Bellingham also making history by becoming the first England player to score seven goals at a single FIFA World Cup. Despite the spectacle, both teams ended the tournament disappointed after falling short in the semi-finals.
England had suffered a dramatic late defeat to Argentina, while France’s hopes of lifting the trophy were dashed by a 2-0 loss to Spain.
Reacting after the match, Saka described the victory over France as an “amazing” way to end the tournament, while admitting the semi-final defeat to Argentina remained painful.
“When you lose there’s always going to be noise, when you win there’s going to be noise. It’s how you react to it, how you use it as fuel and today we finished strong, so that’s all we could really do and we’ve done it,” the Arsenal winger said.
England made a flying start in the sweltering Miami heat, with Declan Rice opening the scoring in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead with a header. Saka then struck twice before half-time to hand the Three Lions a commanding 4-0 advantage.
France manager Didier Deschamps, taking charge of Les Bleus for the final time, described his side’s first-half performance as “catastrophic” and responded by making several substitutions at the break, introducing Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola.
The changes sparked an immediate response as Mbappe pulled one back with his ninth goal of the tournament to move ahead of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. Barcola added another before Mbappe scored his second of the game from Michael Olise’s pass, taking his career World Cup tally to 22 goals to become the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer.
England restored their cushion after Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence in the penalty area. Saka calmly converted from the spot to complete his hat-trick after Bellingham handed him the ball.
Dembele scored France’s fourth goal late in the game, but Bellingham capped a memorable performance with a superb solo effort to make it 6-4 and seal England’s victory.
The result handed England their best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
For France, it marked the end of Didier Deschamps’ successful spell in charge. He guided Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018 and a runners-up finish in 2022, but his side’s bid for a second title under his leadership ended with a semi-final defeat to Spain.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where three-time champions Argentina will face European champions Spain in a blockbuster showdown for the 2026 FIFA World Cup title.