MIAMI : Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick as England survived a remarkable France comeback to claim a 6-4 victory in the World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, securing their best finish at the tournament since winning the title in 1966.
In a record-breaking contest featuring 10 goals, England stormed into a 4-0 halftime lead before France rallied through a Kylian Mbappe-inspired second-half fightback that briefly threatened an unlikely comeback.
Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled England’s advantage in the 18th. Saka struck twice before halftime to leave Thomas Tuchel’s side in complete control.
France responded after the break, with Mbappe scoring twice either side of Bradley Barcola’s goal to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Saka restored England’s two-goal cushion from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to complete his hat-trick, but Ousmane Dembele pulled another goal back six minutes into stoppage time before substitute Jude Bellingham sealed the result moments later with England’s sixth.
“We had a brilliant first half and then a turbulent second half,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said.
“We are so, so tired and drained from the last weeks. I have said it before, this team has created something very special, and they showed it again.”
The victory gave England third place at the World Cup for the first time after defeats in previous third-place playoffs in 1990 and 2018.
The 10-goal thriller set a new record for a World Cup third-place match, surpassing France’s 6-3 victory over West Germany in 1958.
Despite the defeat, Mbappe reached two major milestones. His two goals took his tournament tally to 10, putting him two clear of Argentina captain Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race ahead of Sunday’s final against Spain.
The France captain also moved onto 22 career World Cup goals, overtaking Messi to become the competition’s all-time leading scorer.
“In the first half, I can understand those who say we didn’t respect the shirt,” Mbappe said.
“I would say instead that we were human. Unfortunately, we were completely stunned. They gave us a proper wake-up call.
“In the second half, we became top-level players again, mental machines who no longer have feelings.”
The match also marked the end of Didier Deschamps’ 14-year reign as France coach, concluding a tenure of 185 matches that included the 2018 World Cup title and three appearances in the last four of the tournament.
