Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring their fifth goal to complete a hat-trick with Jude Bellingham and Reece James
* France came back from 4-0 half-time deficit to take the game down to the wire until Jude Bellingham clinched the victory
* Saka claimed hat-trick as Kylian Mbappe’s brace makes him the all-time leading scorer in World Cup™ history
* Overtaking Lionel Messi with 22 overall goals and also topping the Golden Boot charts with 10 goals ahead of Argentina’s final tonight against Spain
Maravi Express
England beat France 6-4 in an incredible FIFA World Cup™ third-place playoff in which Bukayo Saka scores a hat-trick while Kylian Mbappe claimed a brace to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
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It was an incredible match in which France came back from 4-0 half-time deficit to take the game down to the wire until Jude Bellingham clinched the victory.
Mbappe is now the all-time top scorer in FIFA World Cup history, overtaking Lionel Messi with 22 overall goals — the Argentina is in action tonight (21h00) in the final against Spain.
The France captain also tops the Golden Boot charts, again replacing Messi as the tournament’s No. 1 with 10 goals, while the Argentina skipper has eight.
England took a remarkable 4-0 half-time lead through Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two from Bukayo Saka and a humiliation looked to be on the cards for France in coach Didier Deschamps’ final game in charge of Les Bleus.
But France came storming back in the second half with Mbappé scoring twice either side of a goal by Bradley Barcola. They had chances to equalise or even go ahead before Saka completed his hat-trick with a penalty in the 87th minute.
There was still time, though, for Ousmane Dembélé to score his sixth goal of the tournament for France, before Jude Bellingham registered his seventh of the competition for England to round off a topsy-turvy game.
It moved Bellingham past Erling Haaland and into third place in the Golden Boot leaderboard, courtesy of his extra assist.
England’s Eberechi Eze in action
Both teams had higher aspirations at the 2026 tournament but suffered painful semifinal exits – France were outplayed by Spain while England suffered a late collapse against Argentina.
Both coaches made multiple changes with a host of stars on the bench at the start. England boss Thomas Tuchel left out Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham from his starting lineup while Deschamps, stepping down after 14 years at the helm, omitted Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice put England ahead with a goal from distance in the third minute and Ezri Konsa headed home to make it 2-0.
Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were a threat as France searched for a way back into the game, but they found England’s second-choice goalkeeper Dean Henderson in top form.
The game threatened to become embarrassing for France when Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 after a swift break.
And it was 4-0 in first-half stoppage time when Saka scored his second goal of the game, celebrated with a fist pump by Tuchel.
France coach Didier Deschamps told French TV channel M6 that the first-half display had been “catastrophic”, urging his men to show pride.
Didier Deschamps
He made four changes, bringing on Dembele, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola and was rewarded almost instantly when Mbappe scored his ninth goal of the tournament to move clear of Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot standings.
The game had now totally changed complexion, and Barcola pulled another goal back, with Deschamps clenching his fist on the bench.
Mbappe then netted his second of the game to become the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with 22 goals – slotting home from Olise’s pass.
France squandered a number of chances to equalise, and England were handed a chance to extend their lead when Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence in the penalty area.
Saka stepped up to the spot and converted to complete his hat-trick. There was still time for Dembele to grab a fourth for France, but Bellingham then strode forward to score the 10th goal of the match with an individual effort.
In doing so, Bellingham became the first England player to score seven goals at a World Cup — and by finishing third, England secured their best result at a World Cup since winning the tournament in 1966, though they will carry bitter memories of their defeat by defending champions Argentina.
Deschamps led France to World Cup glory in 2018 and finished as runners-up four years ago. Les Bleus were favourites to win the 2026 tournament after a sensational start but were well beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semifinals.
Three-time champions Argentina face European champions Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, this evening (21h00).—Reporting by AFP & Olympics.com; editing by Maravi Express
Knockout stages results
Round of 32
* South Africa 0-1 Canada
* Jordan 1-3 Argentina
* Brazil 2-1 Japan
* Germany 1(3)-1(4) Paraguay
* Netherlands 1(2)-1(3) Morocco
* Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway
* France 3-0 Sweden
* Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
* England 1-2 DR Congo
* Belgium 3-2 Senegal
* USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Spain 3-0 Austria
* Portugal 2-1 Croatia
* Switzerland 2-0 Algeria
* Australia 1(2)-1(4) Egypt
* Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde
* Colombia 1-0 Ghana
Round of 16
* Canada 0-3 Morocco
* Paraguay 0-1 France
* Brazil 1-2 Norway
* Mexico 2-3 England
* Portugal 0-1 Spain
* USA 1-4 Belgium
* Argentina 3-2 Egypt
* Switzerland 0(4)-0(3) Colombia
Quarterfinals
* Morocco 0-2 France
* Belgium 1-2 Spain
* Norway 1-2 England
* Argentina 3-1 Switzerland
Semifinals
* France 0-2 Spain
* England 1-0 Argentina
3rd Place Play-off
Saturday
* France 4-6 England
Final
Sunday
* Spain v Argentina (21h00)
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