England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a dramatic 6-4 victory over France in Miami, while Kylian Mbappe became the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer.
The third-place playoff produced 10 goals and several individual milestones, with England ending their campaign on a high after a heartbreaking semi-final defeat to Argentina. France, meanwhile, were looking to recover from their 2-0 semi-final loss to Spain.
England manager Thomas Tuchel and France coach Didier Deschamps made sweeping changes to their starting line-ups, resting several key players, including Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola.
England made a blistering start as Declan Rice fired home from distance in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled the advantage with a headed finish.
Bukayo Saka then took centre stage, scoring twice before half-time to hand England a commanding 4-0 lead.
France struggled to contain England in the opening half, prompting an angry response from Deschamps.
“The first-half display was catastrophic,” Deschamps told French television channel M6, urging his players to show more pride after the interval.
The France coach introduced Dembele, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola at the break, and the changes immediately transformed the contest.
Mbappe pulled one back with his ninth goal of the tournament before Barcola reduced the deficit further to spark hopes of an unlikely comeback.
The French captain then etched his name into World Cup history by scoring his second of the afternoon, taking his overall World Cup tally to 22 goals—surpassing Lionel Messi to become the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
Mbappe’s brace also moved him two goals clear of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
England, however, regained control after Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence in the penalty area. Saka calmly converted the resulting spot-kick to complete his hat-trick and restore England’s cushion.
Dembele added France’s fourth late on, but Jude Bellingham rounded off the scoring with a superb solo effort to make it 6-4.
The goal also saw Bellingham become the first England player to score seven goals at a World Cup.
Despite missing out on the final, England’s third-place finish represents their best World Cup performance since lifting the trophy in 1966.
For Deschamps, who is stepping down after 14 years in charge, the defeat marked a disappointing end to a tournament in which France had been among the favourites before their semi-final elimination by Spain.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where defending champions Argentina will face European champions Spain.
