England thrashes France 6-4 in World Cup 2026 third-place playoff

England secured third place at the 2026 World Cup with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France in the consolation final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. In front of 64,478 spectators, the match became the highest-scoring third-place playoff in World Cup history.

Bukayo Saka was the star of the show with a hat trick (37', 45+', 87' penalty) that propelled the Three Lions to victory. Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa also found the net in a dominant first half that ended 4-0.

France mounted a spirited second-half comeback: Kylian Mbappé scored twice (48', 66'), surpassing Lionel Messi's record for most career World Cup goals (22 total, 10 in this tournament). Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé also scored, pulling France back to 4-3. But Saka's penalty in the 87th minute and Jude Bellingham's strike in the 98th sealed the 6-4 final score.

The 10 goals made it the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982. Bellingham's seventh goal of the tournament set a new record for most goals by an England player in a single World Cup edition.

For France, the match marked the end of Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure as head coach. "We were not expecting such a first half," Deschamps said. "We were deeply disappointed after the semis. I don't want to sum up my career on this moment."

England manager Thomas Tuchel said: "We are fiercely competitive, so we almost don't allow ourselves to be proud of third place. This game will help us for sure."

England's third-place finish is their best World Cup result since winning the tournament in 1966.

Sources

• https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-england-france-third-place-score-52f94eda6ff6d268d38aaefbc446c525