When England and France took the field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens for the World Cup third-place match, few expected a high-scoring thriller. But that’s exactly what we got. Bukayo Saka delivered a virtuoso performance with a hat trick, while teammates Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa also scored to give England a dominant 4-0 halftime lead. England looked like they were going to cruise to an easy win, but France had other plans.
The second half turned into a genuine shootout. Kylian Mbappé, determined not to go quietly, scored twice and pulled France back into the match at 4-3. Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé added goals of their own, but England held firm for the 6-4 victory. With ten total goals, this game became the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary defeated El Salvador 10-1 back in 1982, and the most goals ever scored in a World Cup third-place game. That’s remarkable for what’s supposedly a meaningless consolation match.
The storylines don’t stop there. Mbappé’s two goals give him 10 for the tournament, breaking Lionel Messi’s career World Cup record of 9 goals. However, Messi gets one final chance to reclaim the crown when Argentina faces Spain in Sunday’s final. Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham’s seventh goal of the tournament set a new England record for a single World Cup, cementing his status as a generational talent. Coach Thomas Tuchel called it progress after England’s semifinal heartbreak, and with this much young talent on display, it’s hard to argue. Did England’s dominant first-half display convince you they’ll finally win a World Cup soon?
