England Triumphs Over France in Thrilling 6-4 World Cup Showdown!
A Historic Third Place Finish for England
Miami: In an exhilarating match, Bukayo Saka netted a hat-trick, leading England to a 6-4 victory over France, securing third place in the World Cup—its best finish since the 1966 championship.
The game was a rollercoaster, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice, making him the all-time top scorer in World Cup history. France made a remarkable comeback from a 4-0 deficit at halftime, nearly leveling the score.
Saka sealed his hat-trick with a penalty kick just three minutes before the end, bringing the score to 5-3 and easing England's tension after earlier goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa had set a strong foundation.
Ousmane Dembele's late goal reignited hope for France, but Jude Bellingham, a substitute, extinguished it with his seventh tournament goal in stoppage time—the highest by any England player in a single World Cup.
England's manager, Thomas Tuchel, reflected on the match, stating, "We had a brilliant first half and then a turbulent second half. We are so, so tired and drained from the last weeks... this team has created something very special, and they showed it again."
This match set a record for the most goals in a third-place playoff, surpassing the previous record of 9 goals in the 1958 tournament.
France, aiming to send their 2018 World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps off with a victory, came alive in the second half, with Mbappe's goals bringing his tournament total to 10, placing him ahead of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Mbappe acknowledged the team's first-half struggles, saying, "In the first half, I can understand those who say we were taking the piss, that we didn’t respect the shirt. I would say instead that we were human. Unfortunately, we were completely stunned. They gave us a proper wake-up call."
He added, "In the second half, we became top-level players again, mental machines who no longer have feelings."
Lionel Messi, at 39, will have one last opportunity to increase his tally when Argentina faces Spain in the final at New York New Jersey Stadium on Monday.