England edge France 6-4 in 10-goal thriller to claim World Cup third place

England produced a stunning attacking display to defeat France 6-4 in a dramatic FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, securing their best World Cup finish since 1966. Bukayo Saka was the star of the night, scoring a hat trick as England overcame a spirited second-half fightback from France in a match that produced 10 […]

England produced a stunning attacking display to defeat France 6-4 in a dramatic FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, securing their best World Cup finish since 1966.

Bukayo Saka was the star of the night, scoring a hat trick as England overcame a spirited second-half fightback from France in a match that produced 10 goals—the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary’s 10-1 victory over El Salvador in 1982.

Thomas Tuchel’s side raced into a commanding 4-0 halftime lead through goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and a first-half brace from Saka, taking full advantage of a disjointed French defence.

France, playing their final match under head coach Didier Deschamps after his 14-year reign, made four halftime substitutions following a disappointing opening 45 minutes. Among those introduced were Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola as Les Bleus sought to revive their fortunes.

The changes quickly had an impact. Three minutes after the restart, Michael Olise found Kylian Mbappé in space and the French captain fired a first-time left-footed effort beyond Dean Henderson to reduce the deficit.

Mbappé then turned provider six minutes later, setting up Barcola, who finished neatly inside the near post before the striker grabbed his second goal of the evening to make it 4-3.

The brace saw Mbappé become the leading men’s World Cup goalscorer with 22 goals, moving ahead of Lionel Messi. He also strengthened his lead in the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot ahead of Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain.

France had a golden opportunity to draw level when Olise, who set a new World Cup record with seven assists in a single tournament, missed from close range after side-footing wide from 12 yards.

England eventually regained control late in the contest after Djed Spence was fouled in the penalty area by Malo Gusto. Saka calmly converted the resulting spot kick in the 87th minute to complete his hat trick, becoming only the fourth Englishman to score three goals in a men’s World Cup match.

France refused to give up, with Dembélé curling home another goal to keep the contest alive. However, substitute Jude Bellingham sealed England’s victory in stoppage time with a composed finish after driving into the penalty area.

Bellingham’s goal also earned him a place in England’s record books as the first English player to score seven goals in a single World Cup tournament.

The victory provided some consolation for England after their painful semifinal defeat to Argentina earlier in the week.

Reflecting on the achievement, Tuchel praised his players’ resilience despite the disappointment of missing out on the final.

“It is the first medal in 60 years, the best World Cup on foreign soil, so I hope the players can be proud of that in some time,” he said after the match.

“We are fiercely competitive, so we almost don’t allow ourselves to be proud with third place. Eighteen months ago, we set the highest goal, the highest dream to chase. We were very, very ambitious with our dream to make it to the final and win the World Cup, so it is very, very painful if you miss out. The pain will stay for a while but will go away, the scar will stay. This is how it is in high-level sport.”

Tuchel also commended his team’s determination under difficult circumstances.

“You cannot worship this performance, this mentality today, high enough. We had one day less to prepare, we had thousands and thousands of kilometers more in our bones and bodies, we come from altitude, we come from the heat over time, we come from playing with 10 men, and again we found a way,” he said.