By our reporter 19.7.2026
England and France weren’t in the mood to play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup bronze match, but after 90 minutes Saturday in Miami, Florida it turned out to be a 10-goal thriller; a game that should have been reserved for the final.
Both teams were cruelly knocked out of contention for the title in the semi final with the England defeat hand to them by Argentina being the most heart breaking.
But The Three Lions roared back it seems with Bukayo Saka providing the spark England probably had missed in the tournament.
Declan Rice opened scoring in just three minutes and made an assist for Ezri Konsa to double the score. Saka had the first of his hat-trick after being set up by Marcus Rashford in the 37th minute and just before half time he made it four for England with a helping hand from Ebere Eze.
France who refused to be so humiliated bounced back in the second half with Kylian Mbappe leading the charge for redemption. Bradley Barcola added the second and Mbappe once more popped up to give France a hope for a great comeback victory.
However, Saka slowed down the charge after Jude Bellingham fresh from the bench, generous offered him the chance to complete his hat-trick from the spot.
Ousmane Dembele in added time pulled one back, but Bellingham put the icing on the cake for England when he struck in his seventh goal of the tournament. He became the first English man to score seven goals in a single tournament.
Speaking afterwards Mbappe said:
“There were two very different halves. During the first one, I can understand why some people think we made fools of ourselves and didn’t do the jersey justice.
“I’d say instead that we were human—and we can’t afford to be. We were completely stunned, and they really shook us awake.
“In the second half, we went back to being top-level players, mental machines. In the end, we didn’t win, and that’s a shame for the coach [Didier Deschamps].”