England achieved its second-best World Cup finish in football history on Saturday by claiming third place with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France in Miami Gardens, United States.
Bukayo Saka spearheaded the English offense with a impressive hat-trick, scoring in the 37th, 45+1, and 87th minutes—the final goal coming from the penalty spot. Declan Rice opened the scoring early in the 3rd minute, followed by goals from Ezri Konsa in the 18th minute and Jude Bellingham in the 90+8th minute.
The performance secures England’s highest tournament placement since winning the World Cup on home soil in 1966.
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France mounted a dramatic second-half comeback after heading into the break trailing 4-0. Les Bleus narrowed the deficit first to 4-3 and later to 5-4. Kylian Mbappé scored twice in the 48th and 66th minutes, cementing his position as the leading goalscorer of the 2026 tournament with 10 goals and becoming the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals overall.
Substitutes Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé added goals in the 54th and 90+6th minutes, respectively.
