England beats France 6-4 for World Cup bronze, Saka stars

England beat France 6-4 at Miami Stadium to take World Cup bronze, with Bukayo Saka’s hat-trick driving a game that finished as the highest-scoring third-place match in 44 years. The result gave England its best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966, while France left Miami after a semifinal loss to Spain and another defensive collapse.

Spanish-language coverage framed the match as more than a consolation game. The emphasis fell on the scoreline, Saka’s three goals and Kylian Mbappé’s place in the tournament’s record book, a packaging that turned the bronze-medal match into a global headline rather than a footnote before the final between Argentina and Spain. In that framing, the game was a showcase of individual brilliance and tournament history, not just the end of France’s run.

Mbappé scored twice for France and reached 10 goals in the tournament, leaving him close to the Golden Boot. The coverage also said he became the tournament’s all-time leading scorer, a mark that gave his afternoon in Miami a statistical weight that went beyond France’s defeat. Another storyline carried through the Spanish-language reports: Mbappé had moved past Lionel Messi in the tournament scoring race, a comparison that added another layer of international attention for readers across Latin America and Spain.

Saka’s performance gave England a different kind of milestone. His three goals helped deliver a result that matched the attacking tempo of the occasion and secured a third-place finish in a match presented as the third-place game with the most goals in 44 years. With England finishing on the podium and France leaving after a 2-0 semifinal defeat to Spain, the final World Cup night before the title match was defined by a scoreline that forced both teams into the record books.