Bukayo Saka’s hat-trick seals third place for England as Kylian Mbappé becomes the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer
England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dramatic 6-4 victory over France in Miami on Saturday, while Kylian Mbappé etched his name into football history by becoming the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Also read: Mbappe tops FIFA World Cup power rankings
The thrilling encounter produced 10 goals, making it the highest-scoring World Cup third-place play-off in history, as Thomas Tuchel’s side survived a spirited French comeback after racing into a four-goal first-half lead.
Both teams entered the match hoping to end disappointing World Cup campaigns on a positive note after falling short in the semi-finals. England suffered late heartbreak against Argentina, while France were comprehensively beaten by Spain.
Tuchel rotated his squad by leaving Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on the bench, while outgoing France coach Didier Deschamps also rested several senior players, including Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola.
England made a blistering start when Declan Rice fired home from distance in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled the advantage with a header.
France created chances through Mbappé and Michael Olise, but England goalkeeper Dean Henderson produced a series of impressive saves to preserve his side’s commanding lead.
The contest appeared effectively settled before half-time as Bukayo Saka struck twice, including a goal in stoppage time, to send England into the interval with a stunning 4-0 advantage.
Deschamps did not hide his frustration during the break, describing France’s opening-half performance as “catastrophic” before introducing Dembélé, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola in a bold attempt to revive the contest.
The changes transformed the game almost immediately.
Mbappé reduced the deficit shortly after the restart with his ninth goal of the tournament before Barcola added another to give France renewed belief.
The France captain then produced another landmark moment by scoring his second goal of the afternoon, taking his career World Cup tally to 22 goals to move past Lionel Messi as the competition’s all-time leading scorer.
The brace also strengthened his position at the top of the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot.
Despite France’s resurgence, England regained breathing space after Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence inside the penalty area.
Saka calmly converted the resulting spot-kick to complete a magnificent hat-trick and restore England’s two-goal cushion.
Dembélé pulled another goal back late on, but Bellingham capped the spectacle by weaving through the French defence to score England’s sixth goal in stoppage time.
The strike also saw Bellingham become the first England player to score seven goals at a single FIFA World Cup.
England’s victory delivered the nation’s best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966 and secured its first third-place finish in the competition after previous defeats in the bronze-medal matches of 1990 and 2018.
For France, the defeat brought an end to Didier Deschamps’ 14-year reign as head coach.
During his tenure, he guided Les Bleus to the 2018 FIFA World Cup title, the 2022 final, and another semi-final appearance in 2026, cementing one of the most successful managerial eras in French football.
Also read: Mbappe fires France into World Cup round of 16 with brace against Sweden
Attention now turns to Sunday’s World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where defending champions Argentina face European champions Spain in a showdown for football’s biggest prize.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
