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England defeated France 6-4 in a 10-goal thriller to claim third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Miami Stadium on Saturday, securing the country's best finish since its 1966 title win.
Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute with a long-range strike after capitalizing on a misplaced pass from Desire Doue.
Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute with a header, and Bukayo Saka added two goals before halftime, the second arriving in first-half stoppage time.
England led 4-0 at the break, the first time France had trailed by four goals at halftime of any match since April 1930.
France responded quickly after the restart. Kylian Mbappe scored in the 48th minute, and substitute Bradley Barcola added another six minutes later to cut the deficit.
Mbappe struck again in the 66th minute, a goal that moved him past Lionel Messi to become the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 22 career goals across three tournaments.
Saka completed his hat trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute after Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence.
Ousmane Dembele pulled another goal back for France in the sixth minute of stoppage time before Jude Bellingham sealed the result in the 98th minute, dribbling past France's defense to score England's sixth goal and his seventh of the tournament, the most by an England player at a single World Cup.
The match was the highest-scoring World Cup third-place game on record, surpassing France's 6-3 win over West Germany in 1958. It marked the first time France conceded six goals in a World Cup match.
Mbappe's tally of 22 World Cup goals now stands as the tournament's all-time record. He also reached 10 goals at the 2026 tournament, the most by a player in a single World Cup since Gerd Muller's 10 for West Germany in 1970.
Teammate Michael Olise recorded seven assists in the competition, breaking Pele's mark of six set in 1970, five of which were provided to Mbappe.
Saka became only the second England player to score a hat trick in a World Cup knockout match, after Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final.
"I would have preferred not to be the all-time top scorer and to be playing tomorrow's match," Mbappe said after the game, referring to Sunday's final between Argentina and Spain.
France coach Didier Deschamps, in his final match in charge of the national team, described his side's first-half performance as "catastrophic" and made several changes at the break.
The match took place as wildfire smoke drifting from Canada blanketed parts of the eastern United States, prompting air quality warnings in New York, Washington and the Midwest. Rain on Saturday brought some relief, with clearer conditions expected on Sunday.
Sunday's final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will see Argentina face Spain, with U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney among those expected to attend.
Argentina is seeking to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win consecutive World Cup titles, while Spain is chasing their second title after 2010. The final is expected to be the last World Cup appearance for Messi, who turns 39 this year.
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