England secured third place at the World Cup 2026 with a 6-4 victory over France in the third-place play-off at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick as the Three Lions built a commanding lead before holding off a French fightback. The result marked England's second-best finish at the tournament since winning the title in 1966.
England took control early with Declan Rice opening the scoring in the third minute from long range. Ezri Konsa headed in a second from a Rice corner 15 minutes later, and Saka added two goals before half-time to make it 4-0.
France responded in the second half as Kylian Mbappe scored twice to reach 10 goals in the tournament and move ahead of Lionel Messi in the scoring charts. Bradley Barcola pulled another goal back before Saka converted a penalty to complete his hat-trick.
Ousmane Dembele scored late for France but Jude Bellingham replied with a seventh-minute strike for England to seal the 6-4 win. France manager Didier Deschamps ended his 14-year tenure with the defeat.
