2026 World Cup: England in Third Place After a Goal-Fest; France Defeated 6-4! Mbappé Sets a Record
England finishes third at the 2026 World Cup: Thomas Tuchel’s team defeats France 6-4 in a thrilling third-place match played in Miami. Completely humiliated in the first half (trailing 0-4 at halftime), the Bleus, led by Mbappé, rallied in the second half, but a penalty by Saka (who scored a hat trick) and a goal by Bellingham sealed the deal. Mbappé found consolation with a brace: he reached double digits in this World Cup, bringing his total to 10 goals. With 22 World Cup goals overall, the Real Madrid forward has become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. Coach Deschamps bids farewell to Les Bleus with a loss.
England manager Tuchel, heavily criticized after the loss to Argentina, left stars Kane and Bellingham on the bench and gave Toney a starting spot up front, supported by Saka, Eze, Rogers, and Rashford. This ultra-offensive lineup caught Les Bleus off guard, as they took the field lackluster despite their goal of securing the top spot on the scoring leaderboard for Mbappé. The French team’s collapse in the first half was incredible: in the 3rd minute, England immediately took the lead through Rice, who capitalized on a mistake by Doué and left Maignan with no chance with a long-range shot. In the 18th minute, the Lions doubled their lead with a header by Konsa off a corner kick taken by Rice.
France was unable to respond, struggling both mentally and tactically. Mbappé had a lone chance in the 35th minute, but it was England who scored their third goal through Saka in the 37th minute: Maignan manages to parry Rashford’s shot, Lacroix blocks Saka, but the Arsenal forward recovers the ball and scores the third with a tap-in. And just before halftime, Saka scores his fourth: after a give-and-go with Eze, the Gunners winger makes a mockery of Theo Hernandez and beats Maignan again.
In the second half, Deschamps shook things up: he brought in Digne, Upamecano, Dembélé, and Barcola, taking out Theo Hernandez, Konaté, Cherki, and Doué. France completely changed its approach and, in the 48th minute, made it 1-4 with Mbappé, who scored off an assist from Olise. Before they even had time to celebrate, Barcola made it 2-4, set up by Mbappé himself and scoring after a fine run into the box. England struggled to respond, France kept believing, and in the 66th minute, Mbappé made it 3-4 following a play set up by Dembélé and finished by Olise. The Bayern Munich star himself missed a chance to tie the game at 4-4 in the 81st minute, shooting wide with Pickford in front of him.
It was Saka who dashed France’s hopes: in the 85th minute, Malo Gusto brought down Spence in the box; from the penalty spot, the Arsenal winger scored his hat trick and made it 5-3, securing third place for England in the World Cup. The madness continued in stoppage time: in the 94th minute, Dembelé made it 4-5, and in the 98th minute, Bellingham sealed the 6-4 victory with an extraordinary run that brought an end to a wild match.
