Mbappe becomes all-time World Cup top scorer as England edge France 6-4 for bronze
England secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France in the bronze-medal match, played in oppressive heat at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.
Both teams entered the match after painful semi-final defeats: France lost 2-0 to Spain, while England suffered a late collapse against Argentina. Coaches Thomas Tuchel and Didier Deschamps made multiple changes to their starting lineups, leaving stars like Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembele on the bench initially.
England started strongly, with Declan Rice opening the scoring from distance in the third minute. Ezri Konsa headed home a second goal, and Bukayo Saka added two more—the second in first-half stoppage time—to give England a 4-0 lead at the break. Deschamps, who announced his retirement after 14 years as France coach, called his team's first-half performance 'catastrophic' in a television interview.
France responded with four halftime substitutions, bringing on Dembele, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne, and Barcola. The changes paid off immediately as Kylian Mbappe scored his ninth goal of the tournament, reducing the deficit to 4-1. Barcola then pulled another goal back, and Mbappe scored his second of the match to make it 4-3. That goal was Mbappe's 22nd in World Cup history, moving him past Lionel Messi as the all-time leading scorer in the tournament.
France pushed for an equalizer but missed several chances. England then earned a penalty when Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence, and Saka converted to complete his hat-trick and extended England's lead to 5-3. Dembele scored a fourth for France, but Jude Bellingham sealed the win with a solo effort, making it 6-4. Bellingham became the first England player to score seven goals at a single World Cup.
By finishing third, England achieved their best World Cup result since winning the tournament in 1966. France, the 2018 champions and 2022 runners-up, end their campaign with a fourth-place finish. The tournament concludes on Sunday with the final between Argentina and Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
