Saka leads England over France in thriller; 6-4, Mbappé passes Messi

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England's forward #07 Bukayo Saka (C) celebrates scoring his team's fifth goal with teammates midfielder #10 Jude Bellingham and defender #24 Reece James during the 2026 World Cup football tournament third-place match between France and England at th

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After a thrilling 90 minutes where even a four-goal lead was not safe, England held on against a furious second-half comeback by France to win 6-4 and claim third place in the 2026 World Cup, while Kylian Mbappé laid down the gauntlet in the Golden Boot race.

By the numbers:

England’s Saka led the charge for England with his second career hat trick for the Three Lions, scoring in the 37th minute, first-half stoppage-time, and on a penalty kick in the 87th minute.

On the other side of the pitch, Mbappé scored two goals of his own to end the tournament with 10 goals overall. He is battling Argentina’s Lionel Messi to see who will win the Golden Boot, the coveted trophy that goes to the tournament’s top scorer. Trailing by two goals, the Argentinian striker will need his own hat trick on Sunday in the championship game against Spain to claim the crown.

Mbappé’s pair of goals Saturday meant he tied and then surpassed Messi in another, more historic category, as well. The goals gave him 22 for his career, one more than the 39-year-old Messi.

Timeline:

England appeared to have France’s number for the entire first half as Declan Rice scored in the first three minutes to put his team on top. England proceeded to tack on three more – two from Saka and one from Ezri Konsa – before the first half ended, giving them a 4-0 lead at the break.

The tables turned in the second half as France applied the bulk of the pressure. With Mbappé’s two goals and another from Bradley Barcola within the first 22 minutes, France looked to complete an epic comeback.

Even with Saka’s penalty-kick goal in the 87th minute putting England up by two heading into stoppage time, the lead did not feel particularly safe. Ousmane Dembélé drove that point home six minutes into stoppage time when he drove the ball into the back of the net. It was not until two minutes later when Jude Bellingham tallied his seventh goal of the tournament that England could breathe easier.

Dig deeper:

The 10 goals scored Saturday are the most in a third-place game in World Cup history. One would have to go back more than four decades to find a higher-scoring game, even if it was a much more one-sided affair. In 1982, Hungary put up 10 goals of their own to defeat El Salvador 10-1.

On to the final… Argentina vs. Spain

What's next:

After 39 days, 72 group stage matches, the Round of 32, the Round of 16, the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and third-place Bronze match, the FIFA World Cup Final is here with Spain taking on Argentina for the Championship.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed at New York/New Jersey Stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup Final on July 15, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jordan Bank - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)