World Cup 2026 | France 4 - 6 England

England finish in 3rd place at the World Cup

The match neither side truly wanted to play became one neither wanted to end.

Author | George B

Stadium | Miami Stadium

England's bronze final, formerly known as the third-place play-off, against France erupted into an extraordinary contest that produced 10 goals, with the Three Lions scoring six. It could easily have delivered even more.

Bukayo Saka became only the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match, following Sir Geoff Hurst's feat in the 1966 final. The only other player to score a World Cup hat-trick against France was Pele in 1958.

Records being broken everywhere...

The victory secured England's highest finish at a men's World Cup since lifting the trophy in 1966 and their best result ever at a tournament held outside home soil.

It also came in the highest-scoring third-place match in World Cup history, surpassing France's 6-3 win over West Germany in 1958. England also defeated a team ranked above them by FIFA at a World Cup for the first time since overcoming Argentina in 2002.

A closer look at what happened

After Wednesday's painful semi-final defeat by Argentina, England showed little sign of lingering disappointment, surging into a four-goal lead before half-time in a breathless contest that quickly swept aside any sense of pre-match apathy.

Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa put England firmly in control inside the opening 20 minutes before Saka struck twice to leave France reeling.

France had not trailed by four goals at half-time since April 1930, and Didier Deschamps, taking charge of his country for the final time, clearly demanded a response during the interval.

Momentum shifted dramatically after the restart as France scored three times and squandered further opportunities to complete the comeback.

Kylian Mbappe scored either side of a Bradley Barcola goal to move clear in the race for the 2026 Golden Boot and overtake Lionel Messi as the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 22 goals.

Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute after Djed Spence was brought down by Malo Gusto.

Ousmane Dembele curled home in the sixth minute of stoppage time to reduce the deficit to 5-4, but Jude Bellingham weaved through the France defence to make certain of England's victory in the 98th minute.

France had never previously conceded six goals in a World Cup match. Fittingly, it was the first time they had shipped six in any game for 66 years.

Bellingham also ended a superb individual tournament with seven goals, the most scored by an England men's player at a single World Cup.

This has been the place for all the best World Cup news and stories

Super News Affiliate has been the place for all the best World Cup news and stories. Check out the dedicated World Cup 2026 page for some of the latest match reports. What has been your favourite moment of the tournament?

You can also visit European Super Football for more stories from a European perspective.