England beats France 6-4 for World Cup bronze, Saka nets hat trick

England beat France 6-4 in Miami Gardens, Florida, to claim World Cup bronze in a chaotic third-place match driven by Bukayo Saka’s hat trick and Kylian Mbappé’s late surge. The 10-goal finish turned the playoff into the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary’s 10-1 rout of El Salvador in 1982.

Saka’s three goals carried England to its best World Cup result since 1966, a milestone that gives Gareth Southgate’s side a tangible measure of progress even after the pain of a semifinal exit. England did not merely survive a consolation match; it attacked with enough force to overwhelm one of the tournament’s most talented defenses and leave with a medal instead of an empty finish.

Mbappé kept France in the game with a second-half double and finished the tournament with 10 goals, still leading the scoring race while also moving past Lionel Messi’s career World Cup goal total. France’s collapse in a match that demanded composure under pressure added to the sense that this World Cup has punished defensive lapses at the highest level, especially once the semifinals gave way to a bronze-medal game with little room for recovery.

The result came after both England and France were sent to the third-place playoff by semifinal defeats, and the tempo in Miami Gardens reflected the stakes for two teams trying to leave with momentum. England’s bronze suggested a national side built to create and finish chances on the biggest stage. France’s 6-4 loss, by contrast, showed how quickly even elite tournament teams can unravel when attacking ambition outruns defensive control.