England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after edging France 6-4 in a pulsating ten-goal contest at Miami Stadium on Saturday, avenging their heartbreak from Wednesday’s semi-final defeat to Argentina with a share of the consolation prize.
Thomas Tuchel’s side dominated the first half, racing into a commanding lead. Declan Rice opened the scoring inside three minutes, before Ezri Konsa doubled England’s advantage in the 18th minute.
Bukayo Saka then took charge, netting in the 37th minute and adding a second goal in first-half stoppage time to send England into the break 4-0 up.
France responded strongly after the interval. Kylian Mbappé pulled a goal back in the 48th minute, and substitute Bradley Barcola made it 4-2 in the 54th minute before Mbappé struck again in the 66th minute to cut the deficit to 4-3, setting up a tense finish.
Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to restore England’s two-goal cushion, only for substitute Ousmane Dembélé to pull France back within one in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Jude Bellingham, introduced from the bench, settled the match in the dying seconds of additional time, scoring the decisive sixth goal to seal a 6-4 victory.
The result gives England their best World Cup finish since 1966, having previously lost both of their prior third-place play-offs, to Italy in 1990 and Belgium in 2018.
It also marks a personal milestone for Bellingham whose late strike capped a strong individual tournament for the Real Madrid midfielder.
For France, the defeat brings the international career of long-serving head coach Didier Deschamps to a close after 14 years in charge, with Mbappé’s brace in the loss keeping him in contention for the Golden Boot heading into the final reckoning of the tournament.
Messi has eight goals heading into the final on Sunday.
(The Whistler)
