◤FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico - Third-place match◢ Bukayo Saka completes hat-trick as England defeated France by 4-6..

England defeated France by 4-6 in the third-place match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.

In the first half, Rice opened the scoring early with a long-range shot, Saka's goal was disallowed, Konsa headed in a goal, and Saka scored twice. In the second half, France fought back emphatically, with Mbappé and Barcola scoring in quick succession. Mbappé then scored again and broke the record. In the crucial moments, Saka converted a penalty to ccmpleted his hat-trick and equalled a team record, Dembélé scored with a volley, and Bellingham tapped in from close range. Ultimately, England triumphed 4-6 over France in this spectacular match.

First Half

In the 3rd minute, England launched a deadly quick counter-attack. Désiré Doué misplaced a pass in his own back half. Declan Rice quickly followed up,  intercepted the ball and took a few steps before taking a right-footed long shot from outside the box which flew straight into the bottom right corner of the net. Mike Maignan even had no chance to react, and England broke the deadlock first to take an early 0-1 lead!

2 minutes later, Bukayo Saka crossed from the right side of the box, Marcus Rashford quickly followed up and stopped the ball before taking a right-footed half-volley from the left side of the box, but his shot was blocke by Malo Gusto.

In the 10th minute, Lucas Hernandez passes horizontally from the left side of the box. His pass was initially blocked and cleared off not far away by Marc Guéhi. Rayan Cherki quickly followed up and upon picking up the loose ball, took a left-footed long shot from just outside of the box, but his shot was saved by Dean Henderson.

Shortly after, Morgan Rogers played a through ball down the right wing. Saka quickly followed up, got the ball, dribbled and cuts inside into the right side of the box before volleying the ball into the bottom left corner of the net with his left foot. However, the linesman immediately raised his flag for offside, and the goal was disallowed!

In the 18th minute, Eberechi Eze delivered a through ball from the midfield center circle. After beating the offside trap, Saka quickly followed up, got the ball, dribbled and cuts into the right side of the box before volleying with his left foot, but his shot was blocked by Maxence Lacroix.

Rice then took the corner for England by crossing the ball into the box. Ezri Konsa shook off Adrien Rabiot's close marking and rose high to head the ball into the net, extending England's lead to 0-2!

In the 22nd minute, Michael Olise passes horizontally from the right wing. Kylian Mbappé stopped the ball and and adjusted his angles before taking a right-footed long shot from outside the penalty area, but his shot went wide of the bottom right corner of the post. 

5 minutes later, Doué played a through ball from the attacking third. Mbappé quickly followed up, got the ball and took a few steps before taking a left-footed shot againsth the outrushing Henderson from the center of the box, but his shot was footed blocked by the latter's outstretched leg and then blocked off the goal line by Guéhi! France missed a golden opportunity to pull one back!

In the 33rd minute, Rogers played a diagonal pass from the midfield center circle. Rashford quickly followed up, stopped the ball, cuts inside and adjusted his angles before taking a right-footed long shot from outside the penalty area, but his shot was saved by Maignan.

4 minutes later, Rashford passed the ball back from the byline at the left side of the box. Upon receiving the pass, Saka volleyed the ball with a left-footed follow-up shot from the left side of the box. His shot was blocked by Hernandez and then deflected into the top right corner of the empty net, extending England's lead to 0-3!

In the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Eze played a through ball from near the midfield center circle. After beating the offside trap, Saka quickly followed up, got the ball and took a few steps before volleying the ball into the bottom right corner of the net with his left foot from the center of the box to score his second goal of the match. France 0-4 England!

At halftime, France is already trailing England by 0-4 as they entered the break.

Second Half

Both teams switched sides as the match continued. In the 48th minute, Olise played a low through diagonal pass from the attacking third, After beating the offside trap, Mbappé quickly followed up and upon receiving the pass, volleyed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net from the left side of the box with his right foot from the left of the box, France pulled a goal back at 1-4!

6 minutes later, Mbappé played a through ball from the left wing, After successfully beating the offside trap, Bradley Barcola quickly followed up, got the ball and dribbled into the left side of the box before volleying the ball into the bottom left corner of the net with his right foot, making it 2-4 for France!

In the 56th minute, Mbappé made a long pass from the right wing. Ousmane Dembélé quickly followed up, got the ball and dribbled into the left side of the box before volleying with his left foot, but his shot was saved by Henderson.

4 minutes later, Olise got the ball and took a few steps before taking left-footed long shot from just outside of the penalty area, but his shot went just slightly wide of the bottom left corner of the post.

In the 68th minute, Olise passes horizontally from the right side of the box. Mbappé got the ball and took a few steps before volleying the ball into the bottom right corner of the net with his left foot from the center of the box to score his second goal in the match, making it 3-4 for France against England! This was Mbappé's 10th goal in this World Cup and his 22nd in World Cup history, breaking his former teammate Lionel Messi's record (21 goals) to become the all-time leading topscorer in World Cup history!

6 minutes later, Gusto passes horizontally from the right wing. Olise quickly followed up and upon receiving the pass, volleyed with his left foot from the center of the box, but his shot went wide of the bottom right corner of the post.

In the 80th minute, Dembélé passes horizontally from the right side of the box. Upon receiving the pass, Olise volleyed the ball with his right foot from the center of the box, but his shot somehow went wide of the top right corner of the box post. France missed a golden opportunity to equalize against England!

5 minutes later, Djed Spence was brought down by Gusto while attacking with the ball at the left side of the box. The referee immediately blew his whistle and awarded England a penalty. Saka took the penalty and converted with his left foot, even getting Maignan guessed the wrong way! England extended their lead to 3-5! The Arsenal right winger also equaled a team record, becoming only the second player after West Ham United legend Sir Geoff Hurst to score a hat-trick for the Three Lions in the World Cup!

In the 6th minute of injury time, Dayot Upamecano delivered a through ball from the midfield center circle. After succesfully beating the offside trap, Dembélé quickly followed up, got the ball and cuts into the right side of the box before volleying the ball into the bottom left corner of the net with his left foot, making it 4-5 for France!

2 minutes later, England launched a deadly counter-attack. Upamecano lost possession in the midfield center circle. Jude Bellingham quickly won the ball back and dribbled into the box before slotting the ball into the into the bottom right corner of the net from a very close distance with his right foot, sealing a 4-6 victory for England! This was the Real Madrid midfielder's 7th goal in this World Cup!

When the final whistle is blown, England defeated France by 4-6 to become the third-placed team of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in United States, Canada and Mexico .

Image source: Internet / English Football Association official website