France vs England
Photography by: Rodolfho Chona
It was one of the wildest, most chaotic matches of the summer, and in the end, England managed to walk away with the bronze medal at this World Cup.
Four days after the heartbreak of letting a semifinal lead slip against Argentina, the Three Lions responded in emphatic fashion, racing into a four-goal halftime lead before holding off a furious French comeback to claim a 6-4 victory in Miami. Bukayo Saka delivered the performance of his international career with a hat trick, while Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Jude Bellingham also found the scoresheet in what ended up being a historic World Cup match.
If England's semifinal defeat sparked questions about Thomas Tuchel's conservative approach, this was the complete opposite. His side came out fearless, aggressive and direct, overwhelming a shell-shocked France from the opening whistle. Rice struck after barely two minutes with a driven effort from distance before Konsa doubled the lead from a corner. Saka thought he had added a third earlier only for an offside flag to intervene, but there was no denying him before the break as he finished twice in eight minutes to send England into halftime with an astonishing 4-0 lead.
France, however, refused to let Didier Deschamps' final match in charge end quietly. Four halftime substitutions transformed Les Bleus, and Kylian Mbappé immediately ignited the comeback, finishing Michael Olise's through ball three minutes after the restart. Barcola made it 4-2 moments later before Mbappé struck again in the 66th minute, surpassing Lionel Messi to become the men's World Cup's all-time leading scorer with his 22nd career tournament goal. Suddenly, a match that looked over at halftime had become an absolute thriller.
France piled on the pressure and nearly completed the comeback, but England finally found breathing room when Djed Spence won a penalty after being clipped by Malo Gusto. Saka calmly converted from the spot in the 87th minute to complete his hat trick, restoring a two-goal cushion. Even then, the drama wasn't over. Ousmane Dembélé pulled France back within one deep into stoppage time before substitute Jude Bellingham danced through the French defense to score England's sixth and finally seal an unforgettable victory.
The 10-goal spectacle became the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary's 10-1 win over El Salvador in 1982 and the most prolific third-place playoff in tournament history. Mbappé finished with 10 goals in the tournament to strengthen his Golden Boot bid, while Saka's treble capped England's best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966.
It may not have been the final either side dreamed of reaching, but England and France produced an unforgettable “Bronze Final” that we’ll all surely be talking about for decades to come. A rare feat for a third-place match.
