England Secure Bronze in 6-4 Thriller Against France
England claimed third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dramatic 6-4 victory over France in the third-place playoff at Miami Stadium on Saturday.
The match produced 10 goals in total, the highest in a World Cup game since 1982, as England held off a fierce French comeback after leading 4-0 at halftime. The result gave England their best World Cup finish since their 1966 triumph.
Declan Rice opened the scoring early, with Ezri Konsa adding a header before Bukayo Saka netted twice to put England in command. France responded strongly after the break, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice and Bradley Barcola pulling one back to make it 4-3. Mbappé’s second goal in the 66th minute took him to 22 career World Cup goals, making him the all-time leading scorer ahead of Lionel Messi.
England regained control late on when Saka converted a penalty in the 87th minute to complete his hat-trick. Ousmane Dembélé pulled one back for France in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but Jude Bellingham struck in the eighth minute of added time (90+8′) to seal victory.
Bellingham, introduced as a substitute, finished the tournament with seven goals for England in a single World Cup, a new national record. Mbappé ended with 10 goals in the 2026 competition. Michael Olise set a new single-tournament assists record with seven for France.
Both sides made heavy changes following semifinal defeats, leading to an open and end-to-end contest. France showed spirit in their fightback but could not overcome England’s resilience.
The bronze medal marks a strong campaign for England. For France, the result brought an end to Didier Deschamps’ 14-year tenure as head coach. Spain and Argentina will contest Sunday’s final.
Players from both teams shared embraces and moments of reflection after the final whistle, reflecting the mutual respect between the sides despite the high-scoring drama. Mbappé’s historic milestone and Saka’s standout performance provided memorable individual stories in one of the most entertaining third-place matches in recent World Cup history.
