England secured third place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating France 6-4 in a high-scoring thriller at the Miami Stadium. A spectacular hat-trick from Bukayo Saka anchored the Three Lions' victory, marking England’s best World Cup finish since their title win in 1966.
The match was a tale of two halves. England completely dominated the first period, bursting into an early lead when Declan Rice opened the scoring in just the 3rd minute. Ezri Konsa doubled the advantage with a powerful header in the 18th minute. Bukayo Saka then took center stage, netting his first of the night in the 37th minute before striking again in first-half injury time, leaving a shell-shocked French side trailing 4-0 at the break.
France staged a roaring comeback in the second half, heavily shifting the momentum. Captain Kylian Mbappé sparked the resurgence with a goal in the 48th minute, followed quickly by a 54th-minute strike from Bradley Barcola. Mbappé scored his second of the night in the 66th minute, dramatically cutting England's lead to 4-3 and setting up a tense finale.
The drama intensified in the closing minutes. Saka completed his clinical hat-trick by converting an 87th-minute penalty to make it 5-3. Refusing to back down, France's Ousmane Dembélé scored in stoppage time to bring Les Bleus within one goal at 5-4. However, Jude Bellingham sealed the historic 6-4 victory for England with a final last-minute goal just before the final whistle.
Despite the painful defeat, French captain Kylian Mbappé’s brace propelled him to the top of the Golden Boot race with 10 goals, overtaking Argentina's Lionel Messi, who sits on 8 goals ahead of Argentina's upcoming final clash against Spain. For England, the third-place finish surpasses their fourth-place run in 2018, concluding their 2026 campaign on a historic high.
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