Saka hat-trick fires England past France for third at World Cup

Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick as England beat France 6-4 at Miami Stadium to finish third at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The result delivered England's best men's World Cup finish since 1966 and, in BBC Sport's words, produced "one of World Cup's all-time classics."

Saka's performance captured the shift in expectation around England as much as the scoreline itself. A match for third place is usually treated as an afterthought, but England's victory gave the team a podium finish to add to a tournament that already saw Jude Bellingham set a new goal record for the Three Lions.

England's goals came from Saka, Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa, while Kylian Mbappé scored twice for France in a game that never settled into caution. The 6-4 result left England celebrating a national milestone, but it also exposed how thin the line still is between attacking brilliance and defensive fragility. Ten goals in a bronze-medal match is a rare spectacle, and this one repeatedly opened up as both sides pushed forward.

Thomas Tuchel said the result gave him energy, a comment that reflected the mood around England after a tournament that ended with a flourish rather than a retreat. Saka said he was pleased to finish strongly and would remember the hat-trick for the rest of his life, words that fit a player now carrying part of England's post-1966 legacy.

The third-place play-off has been part of the World Cup since 1934 and has only been missing from three tournaments, and its goals still count toward the Golden Boot race. Mbappé's two goals took him to 10 in the tournament, keeping the individual scoring race alive even as France fell short of the medal. For England, the numbers mattered beyond the bronze: the result confirmed a best finish in nearly six decades and gave the team a reference point for what comes next, even if the route there was as chaotic as the final score suggests.