England signed off their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in spectacular fashion after defeating France 6-4 in a pulsating third-place play-off at Miami Stadium in Florida, USA, on Saturday night to secure the tournament’s bronze medal.
Having suffered heartbreaking semifinal defeats to Argentina and Spain respectively, the two European heavyweights produced one of the most entertaining matches of the World Cup, serving up ten goals in an end-to-end encounter that delighted football fans.
England made the perfect start when Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute, giving the Three Lions an early advantage. Defender Ezri Konsa doubled England’s lead in the 18th minute before Bukayo Saka added a third in the 37th minute to hand England a comfortable 3-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
France returned from the interval with renewed determination, but England struck again almost immediately as Saka grabbed his second goal in the 46th minute.
The French finally got on the scoresheet two minutes later when captain Kylian Mbappé pulled one back in the 48th minute. Bradley Barcola reduced the deficit further with a goal in the 54th minute, giving Les Bleus hope of a remarkable comeback.
Mbappé scored his second of the evening in the 66th minute to make it 4-3, setting up a thrilling final quarter of the match.
England restored their two-goal cushion in the 87th minute when Saka calmly converted a penalty to complete his hat-trick and make it 5-3.
France refused to give up, with Ousmane Dembélé finding the net deep into stoppage time in the 90+6th minute to reduce the deficit to 5-4.
However, England had the final say as Jude Bellingham sealed the victory with a goal in the 90+8th minute, wrapping up a memorable 6-4 triumph.
The victory ensured England finished third in the tournament after narrowly missing out on the final following their 2-1 semifinal defeat to defending champions Argentina. It also highlighted the attacking quality of Gareth Southgate’s side, who ended their campaign with an impressive goalscoring display.
France, meanwhile, had to settle for fourth place after another disappointing defensive performance. Didier Deschamps’ men had been beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semifinals and were unable to recover despite a spirited second-half fightback against England.
The thrilling contest will be remembered as one of the highest-scoring matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and provided a fitting curtain-raiser ahead of Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina, where the new world champions will be crowned.
