MIAMI — England defeated France 6-4 on Saturday in a breathtaking third-place finish at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium, setting a record for the most goals ever scored in a World Cup third-place match.
The 10 combined goals shattered the previous record of five, set in 1958 when France and West Germany played for third place. The match delivered a back-and-forth offensive display that left 65,000 fans in attendance breathless.
Both teams arrived in Miami carrying the weight of semifinal defeats. France fell to Spain, while England lost to defending champion Argentina. For France, the stakes felt particularly high: Kylian Mbappe had a chance to overtake Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race, and the French squad had entered the tournament as favorites.
England manager Gareth Southgate made the eyebrow-raising decision to bench both Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham — the team's two most prolific scorers of the tournament — for the start of the match.
It barely mattered.
England came out with early aggression that caught France completely off guard. Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute, and the Three Lions never let up. Ezri Konsa added a second off a corner kick in the 18th minute. Bukayo Saka, who hadn't seen a single minute in the semifinal loss to Argentina, scored twice before halftime — in the 37th and 45th minutes. England took a stunning 4-0 lead into the break.
But France showed their resilience in the second half.
Mbappe struck in the 48th minute to pull one back. That goal moved him ahead of Messi in the Golden Boot race and tied him for the most goals in World Cup history at 21. Bradley Barcola added another minutes later, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
Mbappe struck again in the 66th minute, making it 4-3 while further cementing his place in World Cup history. As England's defense began to show cracks, an upset seemed possible.
But Saka had other ideas. Awarded a penalty kick late in the match, he buried it for his hat trick to give England breathing room. Bellingham, finally introduced from the bench, scored a stunning goal that appeared to put the match away.
France pulled a goal back in the final minutes, but time ran out. England held on, claiming their best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
For Saka, unused in the semifinal loss, it was a remarkable turnaround. He ended the third-place match with three goals. For Mbappe, while France didn't achieve its tournament objectives, he added to his legendary resume — now sitting atop the all-time World Cup goals list and leading the Golden Boot race.
Spain and Argentina will meet Sunday at New York-New Jersey Stadium for the championship, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
