England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France on Saturday in a record-breaking play-off that saw Kylian Mbappé become the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Both sides entered the match after disappointing semi-final defeats, with France losing to Spain and England suffering a late defeat to defending champions Argentina. With little more than pride at stake, both managers rotated their squads heavily for the encounter in Miami.
England manager Thomas Tuchel left Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on the bench, while France coach Didier Deschamps, taking charge of his final match after 14 years in charge, omitted Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola from the starting line-up.
The Three Lions made a flying start, with Declan Rice opening the scoring in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead with a header. Bukayo Saka then struck twice before the interval to hand England a commanding 4-0 advantage at half-time.
France struggled to contain England’s attacking threat, while goalkeeper Dean Henderson produced several fine saves to deny Mbappé and Michael Olise.
Deschamps responded with four substitutions at the break, introducing Dembélé, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola. The changes had an immediate impact as Mbappé scored early in the second half to ignite France’s comeback.
Barcola reduced the deficit further before Mbappé struck again, taking his World Cup tally to 22 goals to surpass Lionel Messi as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer. The brace also moved the France captain clear at the top of the race for the Golden Boot with 10 goals.
France continued to press for an equaliser but England regained control after Malo Gusto conceded a penalty by bringing down Djed Spence. Saka converted from the spot to complete his hat-trick and restore England’s two-goal cushion.
Dembélé pulled another goal back for France late on, but substitute Jude Bellingham sealed England’s victory with a fine solo effort in stoppage time to make it 6-4. His seventh goal of the tournament set a new record for an England player at a single World Cup.
The victory earned England their best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966, although Tuchel’s side will reflect on the missed opportunity after their semi-final defeat to Argentina.
For France, the defeat marked the end of Deschamps’ tenure as head coach. He guided Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018 and another final in 2022 before overseeing a fourth-place finish in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Attention now turns to today’s final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where Argentina will face European champions Spain to decide the 2026 FIFA World Cup winners.
