England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating France 6 – 4 in a thrilling third-place playoff at Miami Stadium on Saturday.
The victory consoled Thomas Tuchel’s side following their semi-final defeat to Argentina and marked England’s best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
England made a flying start, with Declan Rice opening the scoring in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute. Bukayo Saka then took centre stage, scoring in the 37th minute before adding his second in first-half stoppage time to give England a commanding 4-0 lead at the break.
France mounted a spirited comeback after the restart. Kylian Mbappé reduced the deficit in the 48th minute, while substitute Bradley Barcola made it 4-2 six minutes later. Mbappé struck again in the 66th minute to bring France within one goal and set up a tense finale.
Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to restore England’s two-goal advantage, but substitute Ousmane Dembélé scored deep into stoppage time to make it 5-4. However, substitute Jude Bellingham ended France’s hopes of a comeback by netting England’s sixth goal in the closing moments of added time to seal an entertaining victory.
The win ended England’s long wait for a third-place finish at the World Cup after defeats in the 1990 and 2018 playoff matches.
For France, the defeat marked the end of Didier Deschamps’ 14-year reign as head coach. Despite the loss, Mbappé’s two goals kept him in contention for the tournament’s Golden Boot heading into Sunday’s final. Argentina captain Lionel Messi enters the World Cup final against Spain with eight goals, level with Mbappé in the race for the tournament’s top scorer award.
