England secured their best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966 by defeating France 6-4 in a thrilling third-place playoff on Saturday, July 18, 2026. The match, described as chaotic and high-scoring, saw Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka score a hat-trick, while Jude Bellingham became the first English player to net seven goals in a single World Cup.

France's Kylian Mbappe scored twice during the game, becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. Despite his record-breaking achievement, France were unable to overcome England's offensive onslaught.

The game threatened to become embarrassing for France when Saka made it 3-0 after a swift break and scored again in first-half stoppage time. Earlier in the tournament, France, known as Les Bleus and favored to win after a sensational start, were defeated 2-0 by Spain in the semifinals. England also exited the tournament at the semifinal stage after a late collapse against Argentina.

England's manager Thomas Tuchel made notable lineup changes for the bronze final, leaving out Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham from the starting eleven, while France's Didier Deschamps, who is stepping down after 14 years as coach, omitted Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.

Arsenal's Saka called the victory over Deschamps' France "an amazing result" but admitted the semifinal defeat to Argentina "hurt a lot." He reflected on the nature of competition, saying, "When you lose there's always going to be noise, when you win there's going to be noise." Another sentiment expressed was, "It's how you react to it, how you use it as fuel and today we finished strong so that's all we could really do and we've done it."

The match took place in Miami and was marked by fast-paced action and numerous goals, with England taking an early lead through a long-range strike by Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and a header from Ezri Konsa to make it 2-0.

Both England and France will leave the tournament disappointed after their semifinal losses, but England's win in the bronze final provides a positive conclusion to their World Cup campaign.

Sources