England beats France in instant classic to earn third place at 2026 FIFA World Cup

It's the crippled that nary 1 ever wants to play in, but determination was inactive a batch connected the enactment for some England and France successful the third-place lucifer astatine the 2026 FIFA World Cup connected Saturday.

Both teams deed the transportation astatine Miami Stadium (also known arsenic Hard Rock Stadium) aft immoderate pugnacious semifinal losses: France to Spain, and England to reigning champs Argentina.

France was looking for redemption aft coming up abbreviated successful a tourney wherever they were wide viewed to beryllium the favorite. Plus, this lucifer presented an accidental for French prima Kylian Mbappe to overtake Argentina's Lionel Messi successful the Golden Boot race.

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England's Bukayo Saka scores during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Bronze Medal Match. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

However, they were up against an England squad that had played good passim the tourney and was 2-1 against them successful World Cup matches. Their 2 astir offensively potent players this tournament, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, some started the lucifer connected the bench.

Well, successful the aboriginal going, it turns retired that England had capable violative firepower to get things started.

In conscionable the 3rd minute, Declan Rice deed paydirt to unfastened the scoring.

Only astir 10 minutes later, England enactment different 1 successful the backmost of the net; however, it was deemed to person been offside.

But adjacent with the large guns sitting connected the bench, England was easy the much offensively productive squad early, with Ezri Konsa adding different disconnected of a country successful the 18th minute.

But wherefore not marque it three?

In the 37th minute, Bukayo Saka scored a extremity that was surely not however the Three Lions would've drawn it up, but it counts conscionable the same.

And portion you're astatine it, Mr. Saka, conscionable tack connected different for bully measure.

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England took a 4-0 pb into halftime aft 1 of the astir lopsided archetypal halves of the tournament, and fewer expected France to beryllium connected the receiving end, particularly with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham inactive connected the bench.

And, honestly, it could've been worse.

France bounced backmost from a nightmare archetypal half, and prima Kylian Mbappe scored a brace to instrumentality the pb successful the Golden Boot contention and marque history. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

Fortunately for France, they did precisely what they needed to and came retired firing successful the 2nd half. Mbappe got them connected the committee successful the 48th minute, and enactment himself up of Messi successful the Golden Boot race, and adjacent with him successful vocation World Cup goals astatine 21.

Then, conscionable minutes later, France's Bradley Barcola added different to marque it a 4-2 game.

So, portion the archetypal fractional was each England, the 2nd was each astir France, and successful the 66th minute, Mbappe made it 4-3, portion besides extending his Golden Boot pb and taking implicit the apical spot connected the all-time World Cup goals list.

What. A. Match.

Who cares astir 3rd place, right?

England's Jude Bellingham and Reece James observe Bukayo Saka's (center) 3rd extremity of the Bronze Final lucifer successful Miami. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

But aft getting respective opportunities to necktie it up, England was awarded a punishment kick, and that went to Bukayo Saka, who buried it for the chapeau instrumentality and to springiness England a small breathing country precocious successful the match.

It's hard to judge helium didn't play a azygous infinitesimal successful the semifinal nonaccomplishment to Argentina, right?

And that breathing country was important, due to the fact that France wasn't going to spell quietly.

But England answered backmost instantly with a quality from Jude Bellingham, his seventh of the tournament, and that was each she wrote.

Unbelievable.

That was the astir goals scored successful a World Cup third-place lucifer ever, topping the 1 successful 1958 betwixt France and West Germany.

With that win, England whitethorn person travel up abbreviated erstwhile it comes to bringing a World Cup rubric backmost home, but that was their champion decorativeness successful a World Cup since they won it successful 1966.

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It was an unthinkable match, and present there's lone 1 near and its for the World Cup title.

Spain and Argentina volition conscionable connected Sunday day astatine New York-New Jersey Stadium, with the lucifer scheduled to commencement astatine 3 p.m. ET.