England defeats France 6-4 in high-scoring World Cup third-place match

England secured third place at the World Cup with a 6-4 victory over France, the highest-scoring match in the tournament since 1982. Bukayo Saka scored three times, including a penalty in the 87th minute, giving him his second career hat-trick for England. Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa added goals in the first half, establishing a 4-0 lead that the team defended despite a French comeback.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice in the second half, bringing his World Cup tally to 22 goals and moving him ahead of Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. France’s goals also came from Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé, narrowing the deficit to 4-3 before England restored a two-goal margin.

England coach Thomas Tuchel said the result was a step toward closing the gap with the sport’s leading nations, acknowledging the disappointment of missing the final but urging the squad to take pride in the performance. France manager Didier Deschamps, who announced his departure after 14 years, expressed disappointment after the semifinal loss but praised his players’ effort in the match.

Jude Bellingham added a late goal in second-half stoppage time, marking his seventh tournament goal and setting a new record for an England player at a World Cup. The match was witnessed by a sell-out crowd of 64,478 at Hard Rock Stadium.