Many call the World Cup’s third-place match a mere “consolation” fixture. But this particular match was extremely exciting and thrilling — ten goals in total, a record-breaking hat-trick from Bukayo Saka, and Kylian Mbappé’s brace that saw him surpass Lionel Messi as the all-time top scorer in World Cup history. In the end, England came through a tense contest to win.
England defeated France 6-4 at the Miami stadium in the United States on Saturday night. England led by four goals at halftime, before the second half finished 2-4 in France’s favor. English forward Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick in the match, while the team’s other three goals came from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa, and Jude Bellingham. Mbappé scored twice for France, with Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé also finding the net once each. Despite fighting back in the second half, the 2018 World Cup champions were unable to avoid defeat. England finished third at the World Cup — their best result since 1966.
England took the lead in the third minute through Declan Rice. The English midfielder collected the ball in midfield after a misplaced pass from Olise, beat several players, and fired a long-range shot from the edge of the box into the far corner. Goalkeeper Maignan had no chance of stopping it.
In the 11th minute, Mbappé advanced down the left flank and squared the ball from near the corner of the box. Dean Henderson dived to block Doué’s low shot from the edge of the area. Bukayo Saka, involved in every attack, then put the ball into the French net with a solo effort — but the goal was ruled out for offside.
That didn’t dampen England’s attacking momentum. They continued pressing the French defense and found their breakthrough in the 18th minute, as Konsa doubled England’s lead with a fine header from Rice’s corner kick. With that goal, France suffered an unwanted record of their own — this was the fastest they had ever fallen 2-0 behind in a World Cup match. The previous quickest instance had come after 36 minutes, against Argentina in the 2022 final.
In the 33rd minute, Marcus Rashford’s long-range effort was blocked by the France goalkeeper. Shortly after, Henderson made a fine save to deny Mbappé. Rashford was again denied on his next attempt, before Saka squared the ball across the six-yard box; with the goalkeeper already committed, Saka tapped it into an empty net to make it 3-0.
Despite the commanding lead, England continued to create chances, and Saka struck again in first-minute stoppage time to complete his brace and send England into the break 4-0 up. This marked only the second time France had conceded four goals in a single World Cup match, after their 5-2 defeat to Brazil in the 1958 semi-final.
Didier Deschamps made four changes at the break, and the switch paid off for France. After receiving the ball from substitute Upamecano, Olise crossed for Mbappé, who slotted home from close range to open France’s account.
Bradley Barcola narrowed the gap further in the 54th minute, chipping the goalkeeper with an assist from Mbappé to make it 4-2. France showed genuine signs of a comeback, scoring twice within nine minutes of the restart. Shortly after, Henderson denied Dembélé with another fine save.
France goalkeeper Maignan, in turn, kept England from extending their lead. Ivan Toney headed goalward from a corner in the 60th minute, but Maignan reacted well to push the effort away. A minute later, Olise’s low shot drifted wide of the post.
Mbappé then scored his historic goal in the 67th minute. The strike, which brought France to within one goal at 4-3, carried far greater significance for the French forward beyond the scoreline — it took his tournament tally to 10 goals, two more than Messi’s eight.
Mbappé became the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970, and with 22 career World Cup goals, he surpassed Messi’s tally of 21 to become the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
The goal itself came from a flick by Olise; Mbappé collected the ball and beat Henderson with his left foot. Olise has now provided seven assists at this World Cup — the most by any player since the 1970 tournament.
With France mounting a fierce comeback and England’s lead under threat, England were awarded a penalty despite their advantage. Bukayo Saka converted from the spot to complete his hat-trick and restore a two-goal cushion at 5-3.
Saka became only the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match, after Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final.
In the 96th and 98th minutes of stoppage time, Ousmane Dembélé and Jude Bellingham each scored once more, though neither goal affected the final result. Bellingham’s strike did, however, add a further highlight to his standout tournament — the Real Madrid star finished with the tournament’s third-highest goal tally, level with Erling Haaland, while Dembélé’s six goals left him tied for fourth alongside Harry Kane.
