Match Report
Nobody wanted to play this one — Thomas Tuchel said so himself in the buildup — and for about seventy minutes it looked like the "meaningless" fixture would produce the most one-sided scoreline of the entire knockout stage. Instead, it produced the single most ridiculous match of the tournament. England raced into an incredible 4-0 half-time lead: Declan Rice pounced on a misplaced pass for a stunning third-minute finish, Ezri Konsa headed in Rice's corner in the 18th, Bukayo Saka rebounded home from a Marcus Rashford one-on-one in the 37th, and Saka added a second right on the stroke of half-time, collecting an Eze through-ball to fire low into the corner. Kylian Mbappé and France, eliminated from the trophy and reportedly uninterested in the occasion, looked dead and buried.
Then Mbappé woke up. A side-footed finish just after the restart made it 4-1 in the 48th minute. Six minutes later he turned provider, setting up substitute Bradley Barcola to hammer one past Aaron Ramsdale's replacement at his near post. And in the 66th minute, Mbappé combined with Michael Olise for a brilliant finish that pulled France to within one goal at 4-3 — and made him the outright all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 22 career goals, one clear of Lionel Messi's 21. Michael Olise then somehow missed two golden chances to complete the comeback outright, before Djed Spence won England a penalty off a Malo Gusto challenge in the 87th minute. Saka sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to complete his hat-trick and restore England's two-goal cushion at 5-3 — only the fourth World Cup hat-trick by an Englishman ever. Substitute Ousmane Dembélé pulled one back with a curled left-footed finish in the 90+6th minute to make it 5-4 and set up a frantic finish, but two minutes later substitute Jude Bellingham dribbled into the area, rounded two defenders, and finished from close range to make it 6-4 and put the game to bed — the tenth goal of an extraordinary afternoon.
England claim the bronze medal and their best World Cup finish since they won the whole thing in 1966. Mbappé finishes the tournament with the all-time World Cup scoring record and a two-goal lead over Messi in the race for the Golden Boot — 10 goals to 8, with only Messi's final on Sunday left to close the gap. And Didier Deschamps' 14-year reign as France manager, confirmed before the tournament to be ending regardless of result, closes with a defeat in his final match in the dugout.
😱 4-0 at Half-Time, 4-3 by the 66th Minute
England led by four goals at the break and had it down to one inside 21 second-half minutes, as Mbappé scored twice and set up a third. "There was a huge sense of unreality about it," Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett wrote — "10 goals in a game that looked dead at half-time."
🐐 Mbappé Breaks the All-Time World Cup Scoring Record
Kylian Mbappé's brace (48', 66') took him to 22 career World Cup goals, one ahead of Lionel Messi's 21 — the new outright record. It also extends his Golden Boot lead to 10 goals against Messi's 8, with only Sunday's final left for Messi to respond.
Match Timeline
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3'
⚽
GOAL — Declan Rice 🏴. Latches onto a misplaced French pass and produces a stunning finish. England 1-0.
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18'
⚽
GOAL — Ezri Konsa 🏴 (ast. Rice). Heads home Rice's corner. England 2-0.
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37'
⚽
GOAL — Bukayo Saka 🏴 (ast. Rashford). Rebounds home after Marcus Rashford is denied one-on-one. England 3-0.
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45+2'
⚽
GOAL — Bukayo Saka 🏴 (ast. Eze). Collects Eberechi Eze's through-ball and fires low into the corner. England 4-0 at half-time.
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48'
⚽
GOAL — Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷. A side-footed finish moments after the restart. England 4-1.
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54'
⚽
GOAL — Bradley Barcola 🇫🇷 (sub, ast. Mbappé). Hammers a Mbappé pass past the England goalkeeper's near post. England 4-2.
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66'
🐐
GOAL — Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷 (ast. Olise). A brilliant finish after a one-two with Michael Olise. England 4-3 — and Mbappé becomes the all-time leading World Cup scorer with 22 career goals.
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87'
⚽
GOAL (PEN) — Bukayo Saka 🏴. Wins and converts a penalty after Djed Spence is fouled by Malo Gusto, sending the keeper the wrong way to complete his hat-trick. England 5-3.
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90+6'
⚽
GOAL — Ousmane Dembélé 🇫🇷 (sub). Cuts in on his left foot and curls one into the corner. England 5-4.
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90+8'
⚽
GOAL — Jude Bellingham 🏴 (sub). Dribbles into the area and rounds the defenders to finish from close range — the 10th goal of the match. England 6-4, final score.
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FT
🥉
Full time. England 6-4 France. England finish third — their best World Cup result since winning it outright in 1966. Argentina face Spain in Sunday's final.
What They Said
"It was like four matches - what happened here. Crazy first half and a turbulent second half. You could see the difference what one day makes. We were so, so tired and drained from the last few weeks. Massive compliment and respect for the mentality we showed with all the adversity. Absolutely brilliant."Thomas Tuchel, England manager
"I was not even aware he had a hat-trick. I lost the overview of the goalscorers."Thomas Tuchel, on Bukayo Saka
"Of course, I would love to have played more. But of course, it's not the time to talk about that. I try to do my talking on the pitch. It's done now. Move on."Bukayo Saka, England forward
"I'm a little bit emotional, I can't find the words about how proud I am of those players. We're playing a game with broken hearts, 11 lads with broken hearts."Anthony Barry, England assistant head coach, at half-time
"I have a duty for this game. It is not a friendly. It is a third-place playoff. The players, staff, and I have the duty to reach this last objective."Didier Deschamps, France manager, pre-match
England
6 – 4
France
Full Time · Third-Place Playoff
☁️ The Couch's Prediction
England 3-4 (France win)
Half right, spectacularly wrong. The Couch correctly called a Mbappé brace sealing his all-time scoring record, and correctly named Bellingham among the scorers — but had him grabbing a first-half equalizer, not the actual stoppage-time winner. Missed Saka's hat-trick entirely, missed Rice and Konsa, and picked the wrong team to win by a two-goal margin in the wrong direction. Confidence rating: GOT THE RECORD, LOST THE PLOT.
Match Stats
- Final ScoreEngland 6-4 France
- Half-time scoreEngland 4-0
- Scorers (Eng)Rice 3', Konsa 18', Saka 37', 45+2', 87' pen, Bellingham 90+8'
- Scorers (Fra)Mbappé 48', 66', Barcola 54', Dembélé 90+6'
- Mbappé career WC goals22 — new all-time record
- Golden Boot after matchMbappé 10 · Messi 8 (final still to play)
- SakaHat-trick — 4th Englishman ever at a World Cup
- England's finish3rd place — best since winning it in 1966
- Deschamps' tenureEnds after 14 years, with a defeat
- NextFinal: Argentina vs Spain, Jul 19, MetLife Stadium
Player Ratings
Bukayo SakaFW · ENG9.4 · MOTM
Kylian MbappéFW · FRA9.0
Declan RiceMF · ENG8.1
Jude BellinghamMF · ENG (sub)8.0
Michael OliseFW · FRA7.6
Ousmane DembéléFW · FRA (sub)7.3
Ezri KonsaDF · ENG7.2
Mike MaignanGK · FRA5.4
MOTM
Bukayo Saka 🏴
A hat-trick to answer every question about his omission from the Argentina semifinal — twice from open play either side of half-time, then a cool, ice-in-the-veins penalty to restore England's cushion in the 87th. Only the fourth Englishman ever to score a World Cup hat-trick. "I would love to have played more," he said afterward. Nobody watching Miami tonight would disagree.