Players of the men's national football team of England celebrate on the podium after winning the bronze at the Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 18.REUTERS/YONHAP
England overcame France in a 10-goal thriller to finish third at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Managed by Thomas Tuchel, the English team defeated France 6-4 in the third-place playoff at Miami Stadium in Florida on Saturday, powered by a hat trick from right winger Bukayo Saka.
The victory secured England their best World Cup result since lifting the winning trophy on home soil in 1966. Despite coming close to reclaiming the trophy exactly 60 years later, the Three Lions were denied a place in the final with a 2-1 loss after a comeback by Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, in the semifinals on Wednesday.
While England celebrated a podium finish, France turned their attention to an individual milestone. The team repeatedly looked to create scoring chances for Kylian Mbappé, who responded with his ninth and 10th goals of the tournament, while also finishing the tournament with four assists.
The brace moved Mbappé two goals clear of Messi, who has eight goals and four assists. The Frenchman is currently the outright leader in this World Cup’s Golden Boot race.
Unless Messi scores at least twice in the final against Spain on Sunday, Mbappé will claim the Golden Boot for a second consecutive World Cup after finishing as the tournament's top scorer at the 2022 Qatar World Cup with eight goals and two assists. No player has ever won the Golden Boot back-to-back.
French footballer Kylian Mbappé, right, shakes hands with England's Djed Spence after the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place match at Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 18.REUTERS/YONHAP
Mbappé also scored his 22nd career World Cup goal, surpassing Messi's 21 to become the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
The Real Madrid man now has 14 goal contributions at this tournament — the most ever at a single World Cup.
The previous record of 13 was shared by German footballer Gerd Müller, who bagged 10 goals and three assists at the 1970 Mexico World Cup, and French footballer Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals at the 1958 Sweden World Cup.
He has also surpassed the tournament records set by Brazil's Pelé, who had four goals and six assists at the 1970 World Cup, Argentine football legend Diego Maradona, who posted five goals and five assists for Argentina at the 1986 Mexico World Cup, and Messi, who finished with seven goals and three assists at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
France's Adrien Rabiot tackles England's Bukayo Saka during the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place playoff match between France and England in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 18.AP/YONHAP
England started without its usual one-two punch of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who had six goals apiece entering the match.
English midfielder Declan Rice opened the scoring with a right-footed strike in the third minute. Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute before Saka scored in the 37th minute and again in first-half stoppage time to give England a commanding 4-0 halftime advantage.
By contrast, France appeared intent on feeding the ball to Mbappé whenever possible. He frequently attempted to dribble through England's defense but was repeatedly dispossessed.
French footballer Kylian Mbappé, left, dribbles the ball next to England's Marc Guehi in the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place match between England and France at Miami Stadium at Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 18.REUTERS/YONHAP
The second half belonged to France as Mbappé sparked the comeback.
Mbappé pulled one back three minutes after the restart, and forward Bradley Barcola added another six minutes later to swing the momentum in France's favor. Mbappé struck again in the 66th minute to cut the deficit to 4-3.
But France's rally faded late.
Saka completed his hat trick with a penalty in the 87th minute to restore England's cushion and effectively seal the match. French forward and right winger Ousmane Dembélé scored in stoppage time to make it 5-4, but Bellingham responded a minute later to restore the two-goal margin and complete England's 6-4 victory.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
