Bukayo Saka's hat-trick helps England beat France 6-4 in FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place playoff
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Bukayo Saka's hat-trick helps England beat France 6-4 in FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place playoff")
Bukayo Saka Photograph: (AFP)
Bukayo Saka's hat-trick inspired England to a thrilling 6-4 win over France in the FIFA World Cup third-place playoff despite Kylian Mbappe's record goal
England defeated France in a dramatic 6-4 FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, with Kylian Mbappe making history by becoming the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer. Both countries entered the 2026 World Cup with hopes of reaching the final but suffered disappointing semi-final defeats. France were comfortably beaten by Spain, while England endured a late collapse against defending champions Argentina.
With the third-place match played in intense Miami heat, both managers made several changes to their starting line-ups. England boss Thomas Tuchel rested key players including Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, while France manager Didier Deschamps, who was taking charge of his final match after 14 years, left out stars such as Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
England started strongly and took the lead just three minutes into the game when Declan Rice fired in a long-range strike. The Three Lions doubled their advantage when Ezri Konsa headed home, putting France under serious pressure. France attempted to respond through Mbappe and Michael Olise, but England goalkeeper Dean Henderson produced several important saves to deny them. England then extended their lead further when Bukayo Saka finished a quick counter-attack to make it 3-0.
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Bukayo Saka Photograph: (AFP)
The situation became even worse for France before half-time as Saka scored his second goal of the match in stoppage time, with Tuchel celebrating the strike from the touchline. Deschamps described France's first-half performance as, ‘catastrophic and demanded a response from his players after the break. The France manager made four substitutions, introducing Dembele, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola, and the changes immediately transformed the match.
Mbappe gave France hope by scoring his ninth goal of the tournament, moving ahead of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. France continued their comeback as Barcola scored again, bringing the scoreline closer and increasing the pressure on England.
Mbappe then completed a historic moment by scoring his second goal of the night, reaching 22 World Cup goals and becoming the competition's highest scorer of all time. The French forward moved two goals ahead of Messi in the race to finish as the 2026 tournament's top scorer.
France pushed for an equaliser but missed several chances before England were awarded a penalty after Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence inside the box. Saka stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick to complete his hat-trick. There was still more drama as Dembele scored France's fourth goal, but England responded again when Jude Bellingham produced a brilliant individual run and finished to make it the 10th goal of an unforgettable match.
The goal also saw Bellingham become the first England player to score seven goals at a World Cup. England's third-place finish marked their best World Cup result since lifting the trophy in 1966, although the team will still reflect on their painful semi-final defeat against defending champions Argentina. For Deschamps, the match marked the end of a remarkable era after guiding France to the 2018 World Cup title and a runners-up finish in 2022.
France had entered the 2026 tournament as favourites after an impressive start but were eliminated after a 2-0 semi-final defeat against Spain. The World Cup final will now see defending champions Argentina face European champions Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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