England defeated France 6-4 in the 2026 World Cup third-place playoff at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, delivering one of the most extraordinary matches in World Cup history. The 10-goal thriller is the highest-scoring third-place match ever and the most goal-laden World Cup game since Hungary's 10-1 victory over El Salvador in 1982.
Bukayo Saka was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick (37', 45+1', 87' penalty) to power England to their best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966. The Arsenal winger completed his second career hat-trick for the Three Lions on a memorable night in Florida.
The first half was pure dominance: Declan Rice opened the scoring in the 25th minute, Saka struck twice, and Ezri Konsa made it 4-0 in the 41st minute. At halftime, the match appeared decided — but France had other plans.
Kylian Mbappé ignited the comeback in the 48th minute, Bradley Barcola cut the deficit in the 61st, and Mbappé struck again in the 66th to make it 4-3, surpassing Lionel Messi with 22 career World Cup goals — a new all-time record. Ousmane Dembélé leveled the score at 4-4 in the 77th minute. But England held firm: Saka converted a penalty in the 87th and Jude Bellingham sealed the result in the 8th minute of stoppage time (90+8'), scoring his seventh goal of the tournament — a record for an English player in a single World Cup edition.
Michael Olise set a historic mark with 7 assists in one World Cup, surpassing Pelé's record of 6 assists set in 1970.
The match marked the end of Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure as France manager. "This match isn't going to tarnish Didier Deschamps' legacy," Mbappé said. England manager Thomas Tuchel called the campaign a "success" despite the semifinal heartbreak against Argentina, adding that "a part will never allow you to fully celebrate the bronze medal."
Sources
- [AP News — Saka's hat trick lifts England past Mbappé and France 6-4](https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-england-france-third-place-score-52f94eda6ff6d268d38aaefbc446c525)
- [AP News — Mbappé passes Messi for career World Cup scoring record](https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-france-mbappe-golden-boot-messi-9dd47a1df1469c84cc80a06184fe2732)
