World Cup 2026: England edge France in third-place thriller as Mbappe sets record

England secured the bronze medal at the 2026 World Cup with a pulsating 6-4 victory over France in Miami on Saturday. The match marked the end of Didier Deschamps' tenure as France manager, after more than a decade in charge.

England dominated the first half, taking a 4-0 lead by halftime. Declan Rice opened the scoring with a long-range effort in the third minute, followed by Ezri Konsa's header. Bukayo Saka then struck twice – first on a swift counter-attack and then in first-half stoppage time – to put England in complete control. Deschamps later described the first-half performance as "catastrophic" on French TV channel M6 and urged his players to show pride.

Deschamps made several substitutions at the start of the second half, bringing on Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola. The changes paid off almost immediately: Kylian Mbappe scored his ninth goal of the tournament to move ahead of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. Barcola pulled another goal back, and Mbappe then netted his second of the game to become the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with 22 goals, slotting home from Michael Olise's pass.

France squandered several chances to equalize, and England punished them when Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence in the box. Substitute Jude Bellingham handed the ball to Saka, who converted the penalty to complete his hat-trick. Dembele grabbed a fourth for France with a curling effort, but Bellingham sealed the win by scoring his seventh goal of the tournament – a record for an English player at a single World Cup – with a fine individual run.

England's third-place finish is their best result since winning the tournament in 1966. France, who were favorites after a strong start but lost 2-0 to Spain in the semi-finals, will have to wait for another shot at glory. The final between Argentina and Spain takes place on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.