Bukayo Saka scored a hattrick as England defeated France 6-4 in a breathtaking, chaotic encounter at the Miami Stadium on Saturday to claim the bronze medal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In a fixture traditionally regarded as a dead rubber, both teams abandoned defensive caution to produce one of the highest-scoring matches in World Cup history.
Thomas Tuchel’s England caught France completely flat-footed in the first half of the match that was Didier Deschamps’ last match as Les Bleus head coach.
It took just two minutes for Declan Rice to open the floodgates, turning home a loose ball from close range. France’s defensive vulnerabilities were exposed again in the 18th minute when Ezri Konsa doubled the Three Lions’ advantage from a well-delivered set-piece.
With Deschamps’ men pushing forward to find a way back, England tore them apart on the counter-attack. Saka scored his first of the evening in the 37th minute after a brilliant solo run from Marcus Rashford.
Saka then added his second just before the interval, latching onto a beautifully weighted pass from Eberechi Eze to send England into halftime with a stunning 4-0 lead.
However, the second half saw a fierce French resurgence following Deschamps’ triple substitution. Kylian Mbappé sparked the comeback trail in the 48th minute with a clinical finish inside the box. Six minutes later, Bradley Barcola capitalised on a defensive mix-up to cut the deficit to two.
The stadium was thrown into absolute frenzy in the 66th minute when Mbappé struck again, netting his second of the match and tenth of the tournament to bring France within a single goal at 4-3. The strike was also his 22nd World Cup goal, sending him above Lionel Messi as the all-time leading goalscorer.
With the game hanging precariously in the balance, England managed to weather the storm. The decisive moment came in the 86th minute when England won a penalty, which Saka calmly converted to complete his hat-trick and restore a two-goal cushion.
True to the chaotic nature of the tie, deep into stoppage time, Ousmane Dembele profited from an English defensive lapse to score in the 96th minute, setting up a nervy finale.
With France throwing everyone forward, Jude Bellingham delivered the final blow in the 98th minute. He broke free on the counter and danced through a backtracking French defence before smashing the ball into the net to wrap up the victory.
