England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday with a 6-4 win over France at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Three Lions took the lead in just the third minute when Désiré Doué presented the ball to Declan Rice, who accepted the gift before whipping in an excellent strike into the far corner from range. Rice was involved again as England doubled the lead in the first half with the corner that found Ezri Konsa’s head after he beat Adrien Rabiot in the air. A half to forget for France continued as Bukayo Saka added a brace to put England up 4-0 in their best attacking display of the tournament.
Didier Deschamps, managing his 187th and final match in charge of France, responded by making four substitutions at the break that had an instant impact. Kylian Mbappé reduced the deficit to 4-1 after finishing from Michael Olise’s pass, before assisting Bradley Barcola for France’s second. The Mbappé Show continued when he grabbed his brace with an emphatic strike inside the box to make the score 4-3 just before the hydration break.
Olise wasted France’s best chance to restore parity when striking wide of the goal from close range, but when Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence inside the box, Saka restored England’s two-goal lead from the spot. Ousmane Dembélé provided late hope for France with a stoppage-time goal he fired into the far corner, only for Jude Bellingham to produce some magic moments later with an impressive individual goal that sealed the win for the Three Lions.
ENGLAND
Manager rating (out of 10)
Thomas Tuchel 6 — The England manager provided opportunities to players who hadn’t played many minutes across the tournament. He also ended the competition with a more attacking display that could provide promise for the future.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, 5 = average)
England’s goalkeeper made several big saves across the match but was let down by his defenders in the second half.
Alert to the danger, Spence was quick to close down potential France shooting opportunities. He also stopped a developing counterattack to Mbappé in the first half when applying just enough pressure to force a bad touch. He won England’s penalty in the 85th minute.
Read more:2026 World Cup Final: Best bets for Spain vs. Argentina
The Manchester City defender cleared what might have been a goal from Mbappé, but it looked like VAR would have been required to check on a potential offside. He struggled to keep track of France’s dynamic attackers in the second half.
A difficult start to the second half saw Quansah lose Barcola, who ghosted by him before scoring France’s second goal. He was replaced after an injury in the 83rd minute.
England got two goals ahead when Konsa beat Rabiot in the air to head past Les Bleus keeper Mike Maignan.
An impressive interception saw Rice anticipate Doué’s pass before driving at the defense and whipping the ball into the far corner from outside of the box. He then registered the assist with a corner that met the head of Konsa for England’s second. A performance worthy of the captain’s armband he was wearing on the day.
An exquisite turn from Eze saw him ease past the pressure of Warren Zaïre-Emery before playing through his Arsenal teammate Saka to score England’s fourth just before the break.
A hard-working performance from the 23-year-old was epitomized by an impressive run to get back into shape from deep in France’s half. He helped set England’s press in the midfield block and was positive in possession.
Read more:Spain captain Rodri says team must raise level vs. Argentina
A magical moment in the first half saw the 28-year-old flick the ball through the legs of Zaïre-Emery before his long-range effort was saved by Maignan. It would have been one of the goals of the tournament. Shortly after, he held the ball up well before finding Saka for England’s third goal.
Toney caused problems for France by making direct runs in behind and making himself an option when the ball was in wide areas. He also encouraged contact from center backs when holding the ball up with his back to goal. Should have done better after being played in by Eze in the second half.
The Arsenal winger positioned himself astutely to place the ball home to finish off one of England’s many counterattacks for the third goal, but his best came just before the break when striking across the ball from Eze’s pass for his brace. He was quiet after the restart, but secured his hat trick with a well-hit spot kick.
Substitutes (players introduced after second half of extra time = no rating)
Watkins was bright in possession but could have been more productive in the final third, where he operated from an unfamiliar left wing role. He struck off-target with his only chance.
The Real Madrid midfielder almost got England 5-3 ahead immediately after coming on, but he hesitated before deciding on his finish. He eventually scored an impressive goal when driving through France’s defense, showing composure against Maxence Lacroix, and then putting England 6-4 up to seal the game.
He was introduced for Toney in the 79th minute as England looked to close some of the opening gaps in midfield.
James was brought on after an injury to Quansah.
Read more:Norway vs. England more than Harry Kane vs. Erling Haaland face-off – Ståle Solbakken
A late appearance for Chalobah saw him introduced in time for two more late goals.
FRANCE
Manager rating (out of 10)
Didier Deschamps6—In his final match in charge, Deschamps got more out of his side in the second half, when he made four changes.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, 5 = average)
A first half to forget for Maignan saw him pick the ball out of his net four times. A couple of saves after the restart gave France a chance to get back into the match before he conceded another two.
Hernández was slow with his timing in finding the balance between playing offside and keeping track of Saka, who caused him trouble throughout the first half before Hernández was substituted at the break.
An important block from Lacroix denied a big chance from Saka in the 18th minute to keep the score at 1-0. Unfortunately for him, England scored from the resulting corner. He was not strong enough against Bellingham for England’s sixth goal.
The 27-year-old struggled to transition the ball forward and lacked his normal intensity, which could be down to playing very few minutes recently. He was replaced by Dayot Upamecano at half time.
Read more:The World Cup is being played in my hometown. Can’t say I’m excited | Dave Schilling | The Guardian
Gusto tried to stretch the play by playing high up the right flank, but there seemed to be acres of space which Rashford frequently benefited from in the first half. He was having a better second half before conceding a penalty when bringing down Spence.
England went 2-0 ahead when Rabiot was beaten too easily by Konsa when defending a corner. He was aggressive in the challenge around the field and avoided a booking.
Zaïre-Emery was bright in possession and transitioning the ball forward, but his defending was lackluster at times. He was beaten by Eze in the buildup to England’s fourth goal.
A disastrous start to the game saw Doué give away possession with the pass that was picked off by Rice for England’s opening goal. He was replaced at the break.
Cherki was handed an opportunity to start but didn’t make the most of his audition. He tested the goalkeeper from range in the first half, and then a bad touch let him down in another promising moment before the break, when he was substituted.
He was ineffective in the first half, and a defensive lapse allowed Rashford in before England’s third goal. He made amends in the second half with an excellent through ball for Mbappé’s first goal after the restart, and then some impressive linkup play when assisting Mbappé’s second. He should have leveled the scoring for France but struck wide from close range with the score at 4-3.
Read more:Mbappé guides France past Morocco to World Cup semifinals
Mbappé’s signature finish past Henderson just after the restart took him one ahead of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. He assisted Barcola for France’s second and secured his brace soon after.
Substitutes (players introduced after second half of extra time = no rating)
Digne helped stop the flood of chances coming down France’s left side, while getting forward at the right moments to open up space in the middle of the pitch.
France looked much more stable from the introduction of Upamecano, who tried to get himself a World Cup goal with an effort from range that was palmed away by Henderson.
Intelligent runs saw Dembélé work space in dangerous areas, and he finally got his goal with an excellent finish into his favorite far corner. He somehow ended the game without an assist after a wonderful first-time pass back to Olise, only for the Bayern Munich winger to hit wide.
Barcola timed his run to perfection when scoring France’s second goal, producing an emphatic finish past Henderson.
He was introduced as seven minutes of stoppage time was announced.
