France 4-6 England: Saka scores hat-trick as Three Lions win epic World Cup bronze final | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

England scored four goals in the first half only to edge past France in a 10-goal thriller in the World Cup bronze final, recording their best ever run at the tournament in sixty years in Miami.

Declan Rice’s lovely curled effort got the Three Lions up and running just three minutes in, followed by Ezri Konsa’s header and a quickfire brace from Bukayo Saka to leave the world champions from eight years ago stunned at the break.

Kylian Mbappé took the lead in the race for the Golden Boot with a brace either side of Bradley Barcola’s strike, but England managed to survive the second-half barrage and hold out until Djed Spence was scythed down in the box.

Jude Bellingham graciously forewent the chance to go one goal clear of Gary Lineker as England’s highest scorer at a single World Cup, handing the spot kick to Saka who completed his hat-trick.

It did not seal third place, however, as Ousmane Dembélé grabbed a fourth only for Bellingham to inevitably equal Lineker’s record and finish third, sealing England’s best run in the tournament since they won it back in 1966.

The remarkable fightback from France avoided their biggest ever World Cup defeat on Didier Deschamps’ final game as manager, bringing a close to arguably one of the best matches the competition has ever seen.

Sporting the captain’s armband having struggled at times this tournament while battling with illness, Rice reminded England fans of his quality when he pounced on a sloppy pass by Doué, travelled 20 yards and left Mike Maignan rooted.

Bukayo Saka thought he had doubled England’s advantage with more lax defending from the French, but the assistant’s flag was raised indicating he started his run down the right from an offside position before cutting inside and tucking his shot away.

Konsa doubled his country’s lead in the 18th minute and it was an absolute gift from France, allowing the Aston Villa centre-back a free header to send Rice’s corner delivery across goal and past a disenchanted Maignan.

Kylian Mbappé had two chances to haul his side back into the game, curling a long-range effort wide before his half-parried shot by Dean Henderson was cleared off the line by Marc Guéhi, yet the Real Madrid forward was also caught offside.

England looked incredibly sharp and notched a third goal having played just under 40 minutes, Saka unlocking the entire French defence with a single pass into the path of Marcus Rashford who almost had the half to himself.

The Manchester United forward saw his effort saved by Maignan, having sprung off his line, before Saka’s blocked effort fell back into his path for him to tee up the Arsenal captain to slot into a half-empty net.

Thomas Tuchel’s side were relentless and notched a fourth through Saka slotting the ball home on the end of an incisive pass through the middle by Rashford, giving Deschamps quite the task with his final half-time talk as manager.

It quickly started paying off as Mbappé took the lead in the race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot, notching his ninth goal of the tournament on the break after Michael Olise found his captain on a dangerous run in behind.

France’s all-time record scorer then turned provider for Bradley Barcola to blast his short inside the penalty area past Henderson, halving the deficit in as many minutes as it took Saka to bag his brace before half-time.

Much like their opponents, England were soon causing their own trouble as a cheap giveaway invited Olise forward and the Bayern Munich winger had his head in his hands after firing inches wide from the edge of the ‘D’.

Ousmane Dembélé then wasted his first real sight of goal with a tame effort straight at Henderson, whose side continued to live dangerously coming up to the second and final hydration break.

The pause couldn’t come sooner for the Three Lions, and Mbappé was reeling away in celebration firing into the bottom right corner to cap off another brilliant move and edge ever closer to completing a remarkable comeback.

It was a historic goal as the Madrid striker broke Lionel Messi’s all-time record with 22 goals at the World Cup finals, while Olise became the first player to assist seven times at a single tournament – breaking the record set by the late Pele.

Mbappé also became the first player to hit double figures at a single tournament since Germany striker Gerd Muller in 1970.

England found themselves back peddling once more heading into the final 15 minutes and were almost caught out by an unmarked Olise sending a low cross in from the right wide of goal.

Just as second half substitute Bellingham and Morgan Rogers were both denied at one end, Olise again fired wide after a swift counter-attack as several teammates collapsed to their knees unable to fathom how they weren’t level.

Not for the first time this tournament, Spence led the charge from full-back on a storming run into the penalty area and managed to earn a penalty for a foul committed by Chelsea defender Malo Gusto.

Bellingham clutched the ball in his hands, but proved to be a red herring as Saka converted for England’s fifth, completing a brilliant hat-trick and bringing the French fightback to an abrupt halt before the seven added minutes.

Just as Dembélé thought he might have put France in with a chance of forcing extra-time, Bellingham received the ball after great hold-up play from Ollie Watkins and worked the chance to fire past Maignan for number six.

His seventh strike of the tournament – the most ever by an Englishmen – brought the curtain down on an incredible contest at the Miami Stadium, ensuring England finished third in the 2026 World Cup ahead of the final between Spain and Argentina on the 20th of July.

If anything, the 10-goal thriller has set the bar for football’s showpiece fixture at a near-impossible height.

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