England Win 10-Goal Thriller Against France to Finish Third

Third-Place Match · Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens · July 18, 2026

England beat France 6-4 in a remarkable third-place match in Miami Gardens, with Bukayo Saka scoring a hat trick.

The 10 goals were the most ever in a World Cup third-place match, and the most in any World Cup game since 1982. In front of 64,478 fans at Hard Rock Stadium, England raced into a four-goal lead, France came within one, and England pulled clear again at the end.

England led 4-0 at halftime. Declan Rice scored in the third minute and set up Ezri Konsa in the 18th, and Saka scored twice before the break, set up by Marcus Rashford and Eberechi Eze.

Didier Deschamps made four changes at halftime, sending on Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Digne. Barcola and Dembélé would both score.

France hit back after halftime. Kylian Mbappé scored in the 48th minute, set up Barcola in the 54th and scored again in the 66th, with Michael Olise providing two assists. Saka completed his hat trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute. Dembélé made it 5-4 six minutes into stoppage time, but substitute Jude Bellingham scored two minutes later to make it 6-4.

Thomas Tuchel had made his own changes. Ollie Watkins replaced Rashford at halftime, and Bellingham and Elliot Anderson came on in the 79th minute. England lost Jarell Quansah to injury in the 83rd minute, with Reece James replacing him. There were no yellow cards in the game.

Both teams had 19 shots, with England putting 11 on target and France nine. England took 11 of their shots in the first half, France 14 of theirs in the second. Dean Henderson made five saves for England and Mike Maignan four for France. England had 54% of the ball, and both sides completed 91% of their passes.

GoalServe gave Mbappé a perfect rating. He had six shots, four on target, to go with his two goals and an assist. Olise made five tackles and created four chances, and his two assists take him to seven at this World Cup. Dembélé put both of his shots on target after coming on, and Maxence Lacroix cleared a shot off the line.

For England, Rice made seven tackles and three interceptions to go with his goal and assist. Saka put all four of his shots on target. Rashford created three big chances in his 45 minutes, and Bellingham, in only 11 minutes on the field, had two shots on target and completed five dribbles. Konsa made four interceptions.

Tuchel made changes from the semifinal, with Henderson starting in goal instead of Jordan Pickford, and Quansah, Konsa, Saka, Eze, Rashford and Ivan Toney all coming into the lineup. England played a 4-1-4-1, with Rice in front of the defense and Toney up front. Deschamps used a 4-2-3-1, with Mbappé leading the line.

Mbappé’s two goals take him to 10 for the tournament. England finish third, their best result since 1966, and France fourth.

More: France at the 2026 World Cup · England at the 2026 World Cup

ESO Soccer Match Desk

Archive coverage. First published on ESO Soccer on October 3, 2026. The archive date reflects the events covered.