(REUTERS)
Finishing third in the World Cup isn't the prize a country spends four years trying to achieve. And it might be more painful for England -- and definitely their fans -- after the squad blew a late lead in the semifinals against Argentina.
Still, the third-place match was scheduled to be played, and Bukayo Saka recorded a hat trick and Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa, and Jude Bellingham also scored goals as England produced a wild and crazy 6-4 victory over France on Saturday at Miami Gardens, Florida.
"Across the tournament, we had some amazing results and in the end we fell short against Argentina and it hurts a lot to all of us and I'm sure it's the same for the fans at home," Saka said after recording the fourth hat trick in England's World Cup history. "But we have to hold our heads high."
France star Kylian Mbappe scored twice to raise his total to 10 goals in this World Cup and 22 in just 22 matches in his World Cup career. The former gives him a two-goal lead in the Golden Boot competition and the latter surpasses the career mark held by Argentina's Lionel Messi (21).
Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele also scored goals for Les Bleus. Michael Olise had two assists to raise his total at a single World Cup to seven, breaking the record of legendary Pele (six in 1970) of Brazil.
Both teams fell into the third-place match after semifinal losses earlier in the week. In addition to England's painful 2-1 loss to Argentina, France was roundly outplayed in a 2-0 loss to Spain.
"To be honest, I would have preferred to not be top scorer and be in the World Cup final tomorrow," Mbappe said, in reference to Sunday's Argentina-Spain matchup. "Leo scores all the time. Tomorrow he will score for sure."
It looked like another long day for France after they dug a 4-0 halftime deficit before the match switched from one-sided to pinball-like excitement.
Mbappe steered France's comeback bid by putting France on the board in the 48th minute when he received a pass from Olise and sent a left-footed shot past England goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Six minutes later, the French added another as Barcola drilled a right-footed shot past Henderson.
Mbappe was back at in the 66th minute when he sent a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net. That tally made him the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup since West Germany's Gerd Muller in 1970.
Later, Malo Gusto was called for a foul in the box with a takedown of England's Djed Spence in the 85th minute.
Bellingham lined up to take the penalty kick but then ceded to Saka, who stood at the spot in the 87th minute and sent a left-footed grounder into the right corner to complete the hat trick and give England a 5-3 lead.
The goal proved crucial as Dembele knocked a left-footed shot into the left corner of the goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to make it a one-goal match.
But Bellingham put a lid on the match with a stellar drive down field, and he navigated toward the goal and booted in a right-footed shot in the eighth minute of stoppage time. It was Bellingham's seventh goal of the World Cup.
"Great first half, turbulent second half," England coach Thomas Tuchel said. "Massive respect for the mentality we showed, brilliant...This team created something special. We got lucky to not concede the equaliser and finish it off with the two goals -- the penalty and a brilliant goal."
England's first-half barrage began with Rice's goal two minutes, 14 seconds into the match, the second-fastest tally in the country's World Cup history.
Rice intercepted a soft pass by France's Desire Doue in the midfield and dribbled in and booted a hard right-footed shot past goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Rice took a corner kick in the 18th minute and delivered a boot that Konsa headed inside the far post for a 2-0 lead.
The Three Lions scored again on Saka's goal in the 37th minute. Maignan stopped the initial shot by Marcus Rashford but was well out of the net. Saka took a rebound shot that hit off a defender. Rashford then had the ball and slid it over to Saka, who sent a left-footed shot off a different defender close to the net and it caromed into the goal.
Saka scored again in the first minute of first-half stoppage time by sending a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net.
The match was the final one as Les Bleus coach for 57-year-old Didier Deschamps, whose 14-year tenure includes guiding the nation to the 2018 World Cup crown.
Deschamps liked what he saw in the second half after what he termed a "disgraceful first half."
"It's my fault. I must not have done what was needed in the first half," Deschamps said. "At least we showed something, even if the defeat hurts. Obviously, it would have been better to finish third."
Henderson made five saves for England and Maignan had four stops for France.
English star striker Harry Kane (six goals in this World Cup) didn't play in the third-place match.
World Cup 2026: Bukayo Saka hat trick helps England top France in wild 3rd-place match
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July 18, 2026
