MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Bukayo Saka’s stunning hat trick propelled England to a thrilling 6-4 victory over France in a dramatic third-place playoff on Saturday, marking England’s best World Cup result since 1966.
England dominated the first half, racing to a 4-0 lead, dismantling a disorganized French side with goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa, and two superb finishes from Saka.
Following their semifinal defeats, both teams made seven changes, but Didier Deschamps, in his last match as France’s manager after 14 years, brought in four substitutes at halftime, including Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola, in hopes of shifting momentum.
The comeback attempt began just three minutes into the second half when Michael Olise found Kylian Mbappé, whose left-footed shot beat Dean Henderson.
Six minutes later, Mbappé assisted Barcola, who found the back of the net, and then Mbappé scored again, marking his 10th goal of the tournament.
With this brace, Mbappé surpassed Lionel Messi to become the men’s all-time World Cup goal scorer, tallying 22 goals. He is also leading the race for the Golden Boot, two goals ahead of Messi, ahead of Argentina’s final match against Spain on Sunday.
Olise, who set a record with seven assists in the tournament, missed a great opportunity to equalize when he shot wide from close range, allowing England to regain control.
Djed Spence made a promising run into the box and was fouled by Malo Gusto, leading to Saka’s successful penalty conversion in the 87th minute, making him the fourth Englishman to score a World Cup hat trick.
France responded again as Dembélé scored, but substitute Jude Bellingham sealed the win with a close-range finish, ensuring a memorable victory for England.
Bellingham’s late goal made him the first English player to score seven times in a single World Cup.
This match saw the highest number of goals in a World Cup game since Hungary’s 10-1 rout of El Salvador in 1982.
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Thomas Tuchel reflected on the painful semifinal loss to Argentina, which left fans booing at the start of the game but ended with a thrilling bronze medal win.
“This is our first medal in 60 years and the best World Cup result on foreign soil, so I hope the players can take pride in that eventually,” he said in a post-match conference.
“While we are competitive, we struggle to appreciate finishing third. Eighteen months ago, we aimed for the highest goal—to win the World Cup. Missing out is painful, and that pain will linger, but it will fade.” Tuchel commended his players for their resilience despite the challenges they faced, including less preparation time and physical fatigue from earlier matches.
Information from ESPN’s Global Sports Research contributed to this report.