France 4-6 England: Saka hat-trick headlines third-place classic
England beat France 6-4 in Miami Gardens, Florida in a third-place match for the ages — the most goals scored in a World Cup game since 1982 and the most ever in a third-place fixture. England raced into a 4-0 halftime lead: Declan Rice opened the scoring with a long-range strike in the third minute, Ezri Konsa added a second in the 18th, and Bukayo Saka struck twice before the break, in the 37th minute and first-half stoppage time.
France responded strongly after halftime. Kylian Mbappé pulled two goals back either side of a Bradley Barcola strike, netting in the 48th and 66th minutes to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, overtaking Lionel Messi's tally.
Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to restore England's cushion, before a frantic finish saw Ousmane Dembélé pull one more back for France in stoppage time and Jude Bellingham cap the scoring with a dribbling solo effort moments later to make it 6-4.
Key moments
- •England led 4-0 at halftime through Rice, Konsa and a Saka brace
- •Kylian Mbappé scored twice in the second half to become World Cup football's all-time top scorer, passing Lionel Messi
- •Bukayo Saka completed a hat-trick with an 87th-minute penalty
- •Ousmane Dembélé and Jude Bellingham traded late stoppage-time goals to make it 6-4
- •The 10-goal thriller was the highest-scoring World Cup match since 1982
Timeline
Match facts
- Miami Gardens, Florida
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- Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
Match report generated from publicly available sources. Facts are drawn from the sources below.