France 4-6 England: Saka hat-trick seals bronze medal despite Mbappe claiming World Cup goal record

By Charles Maduka

Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick as England defeated France 6-4 in an entertaining FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday to secure their best finish at the tournament since 1966.

The match also saw France captain Kylian Mbappe become the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history with 22 goals, moving ahead of Lionel Messi.

England made a fast start to the game. Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute after taking advantage of a poor pass from Desire Doue before firing into the far corner.

France nearly responded through Rayan Cherki, but Dean Henderson made a fine save. England continued to attack and doubled their lead in the 18th minute when Ezri Konsa headed home from a Rice corner.

Saka got his first goal in the 37th minute after Marcus Rashford’s effort was saved by Mike Maignan. The Arsenal winger was in the right place to convert the rebound and make it 3-0.

England added a fourth goal in first-half stoppage time when Eberechi Eze played a fine through ball for Saka, who calmly finished into the bottom-right corner.

France came back strongly after the break. Mbappe pulled one back in the 48th minute before substitute Bradley Barcola made it 4-2 six minutes later.

Mbappe then scored again in the 66th minute to register his 22nd World Cup goal and put France within one goal of England. Michael Olise created the chance as France threatened an unlikely comeback.

However, England restored their two-goal advantage in the 87th minute when Djed Spence won a penalty after being fouled by Malo Gusto. Saka converted from the spot to complete his hat-trick and make it 5-3.

Ousmane Dembele scored in stoppage time to give France hope, but substitute Jude Bellingham settled the contest with a brilliant solo goal to seal a 6-4 victory for Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Saka became only the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match after Geoff Hurst achieved the feat in the 1966 final.

Mbappe’s brace took his World Cup tally to 22 goals, one more than Messi’s 21, while his 10 goals at the 2026 tournament made him the first player to score double figures in a single World Cup since Gerd Muller in 1970.

There was more history for Bellingham, whose seventh goal of the tournament made him England’s highest scorer at a single World Cup or European Championship.

The victory ensured England finished third at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while France ended Didier Deschamps’ 14-year reign as head coach with defeat.