- Bukayo Saka scores a hat-trick in a high-scoring playoff victory.
- Bellingham becomes the first England player to score seven.
- Mbappé surpasses Messi in goals in the World Cup.
England beat France 6-4 in a chaotic playoff for third place in the World Cup on Saturday as Kylian Mbappe became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
Both teams had higher aspirations in the 2026 tournament but suffered painful semi-final exits: France were beaten by Spain, while England suffered a late collapse against Argentina.
Both coaches made multiple changes for the game in the oppressive Miami heat, with a host of stars on the bench at the start.
England manager Thomas Tuchel left Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham out of his starting line-up, while Deschamps, who resigned after 14 years in charge, omitted Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice put England ahead with a long-range goal in the third minute and Ezri Konsa headed in to make it 2-0.
Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were a threat as France looked for a way back into the game but found England’s second goalkeeper, Dean Henderson, in top form.
The match threatened to become embarrassing for France when Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 after a quick counterattack.
And it was 4-0 in first-half stoppage time when Saka scored his second goal of the game, celebrated with a punch from Tuchel.
France coach Didier Deschamps told French television channel M6 that the first-half performance had been “catastrophic” and urged his men to show pride.
He made four changes, bringing in Dembélé, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola and was rewarded almost instantly when Mbappé scored his ninth goal of the tournament to move away from Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot standings.
The game had completely changed tone and Barcola scored another goal, with Deschamps clenching his fist on the bench.
Mbappé then scored his second goal of the match to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals, scoring off a pass from Olise.
That put him two ahead of Messi in the race to finish as the top scorer of the 2026 tournament.
France wasted several chances to equalize and England had the chance to extend their lead when Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence in the penalty area.
Saka stepped up and converted to complete his hat-trick.
There was still time for Dembélé to score France’s fourth, but Bellingham then stepped up to score the tenth goal of the match with an individual effort.
Bellingham thus became the first English player to score seven goals in a World Cup.
By finishing third, England achieved their best World Cup result since winning the tournament in 1966, although they will have bitter memories of their defeat to defending champions Argentina.
Deschamps led France to World Cup glory in 2018 and finished runners-up four years ago.
Les Bleus were favorites to win the 2026 tournament after a sensational start, but were beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semi-finals.
Three-time champions Argentina will face European champions Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.
