England tops France in instant World Cup classic to claim third place

It’s a game no one wants to play, but there was still plenty left for both England and France in the third-place match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday.

Both teams took to the field at Miami Stadium (also known as Hard Rock Stadium) after some tough semi-final losses: France to Spain and England to reigning champions Argentina.

France were looking for redemption after falling short in a tournament in which they were widely seen as favourites. Additionally, this match offered French star Kylian Mbappe the opportunity to surpass Argentinian Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.

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However, they faced an England team that played well throughout the tournament and lost 2-1 in their World Cup matches. The two most offensive players of this tournament, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, started the match on the bench.

Initially it appeared that England had enough offensive firepower to get things started.

Declan Rice opened the scoring by hitting paydirt in just the 3rd minute.

Just ten minutes later England scored another goal; but was deemed to be offside.

But despite having the big guns on the bench, England were the more offensively productive team early on, with Ezri Konsa adding another corner in the 18th minute.

But why not make it three?

In the 37th minute, Bukayo Saka scored a goal that the Three Lions certainly couldn’t have equalised, but it still counts.

And while you’re at it, Mr. Saka, add another one for good measure.

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England took a 4-0 lead at half-time after one of the most lopsided first halves of the tournament and few expected France to be on the other end, especially with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham still on the bench.

And honestly it could have been worse.

France bounced back after a nightmare first half and star Kylian Mbappe made history by scoring a pair of goals to take the lead in the Golden Boot race. (Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

Luckily for France, they did exactly what they needed to and got their shots in the second half. Mbappe got them on the board in the 48th minute and moved ahead of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, even moving ahead of Messi in career goals at the World Cup when he was 21.

Then, a few minutes later, Frenchman Bradley Barcola added another to make it 4-2.

Thus, the first half consisted entirely of England and the second half of France, and while Mbappe brought the score to 4-3 in the 66th minute, he also extended his Golden Shoe lead and became at the top of the all-time World Cup goals list.

What. A. Matching.

Who cares about third place, right?

England’s Jude Bellingham and Reece James celebrate Bukayo Saka’s (centre) third goal of the Bronze Final match in Miami. (Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)

But after having several opportunities to equalise, England were awarded a penalty kick which went to Bukayo Saka, who scored a hat-trick to give England some breathing room towards the end of the game.

It’s hard to believe he didn’t play a single minute in the semi-final defeat to Argentina, isn’t it?

And this breathing room was important because France was not going to go quietly.

But England responded immediately with a beauty from Jude Bellingham, his seventh of the tournament, and that was all he wrote.

Unbelievable.

This is the most goals ever scored in a World Cup third-place match, surpassing the goal scored between France and West Germany in 1958.

With this win, England may have fallen short of bringing home the World Cup title, but it was their best finish since they won the World Cup in 1966.

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It was an incredible match and now there is only one match left and that is the World Cup championship.

Spain and Argentina will face each other at the New York-New Jersey Stadium on Sunday afternoon and the match is scheduled to start at 15:00.