England secured its best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966 after defeating France 6-4 in a remarkable third-place playoff in Miami on Saturday.

Bukayo Saka delivered a standout performance with a hat-trick as England survived a stunning second-half French comeback to claim the bronze medal for the first time in its history. Reuters

England dominated the opening half and took the lead after only three minutes when Declan Rice pushed forward and found the net.

Rice turned provider in the 18th minute, delivering a corner that Ezri Konsa headed home to double England’s advantage.

Saka then scored twice before halftime, striking in the 37th minute and again six minutes into stoppage time to send Thomas Tuchel’s side into the break with a commanding 4-0 lead.

France coach Didier Deschamps responded by introducing Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Digne after halftime, and the changes helped transform the match.

Kylian Mbappé began the comeback three minutes after the restart. Bradley Barcola added France’s second goal in the 54th minute before Mbappé struck again in the 66th, reducing England’s lead to 4-3.

The brace took Mbappé’s career World Cup tally to 22 goals, moving him ahead of Lionel Messi as the competition’s all-time leading scorer. He also reached 10 goals in the 2026 tournament, giving him a two-goal advantage over Messi in the Golden Boot race.

With France threatening to complete an extraordinary comeback, Saka converted a penalty with 13 minutes remaining to complete his hat-trick and restore England’s two-goal cushion.

Ousmane Dembélé scored late to revive French hopes, but Jude Bellingham ended the contest in stoppage time with England’s sixth goal.

It was Bellingham’s seventh goal of the tournament—the most scored by an England player in a single World Cup edition.

“We played an outstanding first half and then a very turbulent second half,” Tuchel said.

“We are extremely tired after the past few weeks, but this team has achieved something very special and proved that again today.”

The match produced the highest combined score in the history of World Cup third-place playoffs, surpassing France’s 6-3 victory over West Germany in 1958.

For France, the defeat brought Deschamps’ long tenure as national team coach to a disappointing conclusion. Mbappé admitted that France’s first-half performance had left the players stunned but defended their commitment.

“We were human and completely shocked,” Mbappé said. “In the second half, we returned to the level expected of top players and showed our mental strength.”

He added that the team had wanted to deliver a victory for Deschamps but insisted the result would not damage the coach’s legacy.

England’s victory finally secured third place after the team lost its previous bronze-medal playoffs in 1990 and 2018.

Argentina and Spain will meet in Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Messi will have another opportunity to add to his World Cup scoring record.