35

France 4-6 England

France goals: Mbappe (48 & 66), Barcola (54), Ousmane Dembele (90+6) England goals: Rice (3), Konsa (18), Saka (37, 45+1 & pen 87), Bellingham (90+8)

England overcame France in the ultimate game of two halves in the bronze final of the FIFA World Cup 2026™. Bukayo Saka hit a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham finally put an end to a comeback Kylian Mbappe had heroically inspired at Miami Stadium. England annihilated France in the first half. Declan Rice stylishly struck home the opener from outside the box and, after Saka had a goal ruled out for offside, Ezri Kosna made it two. Saka then bagged a quick-fire brace to send Thomas Tuchel’s team in 4-0 up at the break.

France’s biggest World Cup defeat – when they effectively operated with 10 men in a 5-2 to Brazil loss in 1958 – appeared under severe threat, but they came out swinging. Michael Olise’s pass enabled Kylian Mbappe to get them on the board, and the Real Madrid forward set up Bradley Barcola to further decrease the deficit. Mbappe then pulled Les Bleus within one, before Olise came narrowly close to rounding off a breathtaking team move and equalising. The Three Lions were under extreme pressure, but Saka gave them breathing space from the spot after Malo Gusto had tripped Djed Spence. It appeared to finally extinguish the comeback, only for Ousmane Dembele to get France within one again. England’s player of the tournament had the final say, though, Bellingham dribbling past multiple bodies to seal victory in one of the greatest matches the World Cup has ever seen.

It was England’s best finish at the global finals since they triumphed on home soil in 1966, and brought to an end Didier Deschamps’ successful reign as France coach.

Stats

• Declan Rice required only 134 seconds to score England’s second-fastest goal in the World Cup. Fellow midfielder Bryan Robson netted after 28 seconds – coincidentally against France – in 1982.

• Michael Olise took his assists’ tally at these global finals to seven. It is the most ever registered – records began in 1966 – in a World Cup, with Pele providing six for Brazil in 1970.
• Kylian Mbappe has hit 10 goals in eight outings in North America. The only men with more in a World Cup are Sandor Kocsis with 11 for Hungary in 1954 and Just Fontaine with 13 for France in 1958.

What they said…

“It’s a loss. We were down 4-0; we played a disgraceful first half. We did show some fight, though, and there were things we did well. We had two chances to tie it up at 4-4, and after that, we pushed forward a little more… We did what we know how to do. It’s my fault; I must not have done what was needed in the first half… At least it looked like something, even if the loss hurts. Obviously, it would have been better to finish third.

“We came here with a lot of ambition. We managed to do quite a few positive things. We fell short in our match against Spain. It’s not all a total loss. We have a quality squad, young players who will continue to move up the ranks. We had the talent to keep achieving very good results. On a personal level, it’s been a truly wonderful journey with them. We spent eight weeks together since the start of our preparations. It was wonderful. The disappointment lies in the sporting aspect, but we had the opportunity to stir up emotions, and millions of French people were able to experience those emotions. It’s the World Cup—there’s nothing more beautiful than that.” Didier Deschamps, France head coach

“There were two very different halves. During the first one, I can understand why some people think we made fools of ourselves and didn’t do the jersey justice. I’d say instead that we were human—and we can’t afford to be. We were completely stunned, and they really shook us awake. In the second half, we went back to being top-level players, mental machines. In the end, we didn’t win, and that’s a shame for the coach [Didier Deschamps]. We wanted to do something for him. The first half gives the impression that we let him down—that’s not at all how we wanted him to feel. That match isn’t going to tarnish Didier Deschamps’ legacy.” Kylian Mbappe, France captain