France vs England 4-6: Saka's hat-trick, bronze for England
The highest-scoring third-place match in World Cup history, with names attached this time.
Why a bronze match can still wreck you
Third place is supposed to be the fixture nobody wants. On 18 July at Hard Rock Stadium it became the night people will quote when they argue that consolation games are a lie.
England beat France 6-4. FIFA called Bukayo Saka’s hat-trick part of a barely-believable end-to-end encounter. England’s finish is their best at a World Cup since they won it on home turf in 1966.
The scorers, not the folklore
Earlier drafts of this site invented a Harry Kane brace. That was wrong. The official sequence, from FIFA and the knockout record:
England: Declan Rice 3’, Ezri Konsa 18’, Bukayo Saka 37’, Saka 45+1’, Saka 87’ (penalty), Jude Bellingham 90+8’.
France: Kylian Mbappe 48’, Bradley Barcola 54’, Mbappe 66’, Ousmane Dembele 90+6’.
Read that again. England scored in the 3rd minute and the 90+8th. France scored twice in a six-minute burst after half-time and still lost by two. Saka’s third was a penalty at 87’. Bellingham’s was the last kick of a ten-goal argument.
What it changes
Thomas Tuchel’s side leave Miami with bronze and a campaign that forced every favourite to solve them. France leave with fourth, a semi-final loss to Spain, and the knowledge that a 6-4 can still feel like a wound.
The final was the next night. Spain vs Argentina at MetLife. This match was not that. It was louder.
Sources
Every score and ranking on this page is locked to a named source. If it is not here, it is not on the page.