England secured third place at the FIFA World Cup in spectacular fashion on Saturday, defeating France 6-4 in a record-breaking thriller as Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick and Kylian Mbappé surpassed Lionel Messi’s career World Cup scoring record.
The 10-goal contest became the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary’s 10-1 demolition of El Salvador at the 1982 tournament and also set a new benchmark as the highest-scoring third-place playoff in World Cup history.
Saka was the star of the show for the Three Lions, netting in the 37th minute, first-half stoppage time and from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to register the second hat-trick of his England career.
England laid the foundation for victory with a dominant first-half display, racing into a 4-0 lead before the break. Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa joined Saka on the scoresheet as Gareth Southgate’s side overwhelmed France with clinical finishing and relentless attacking football.
France mounted an impressive second-half comeback led by captain Kylian Mbappé, who struck twice to rewrite the World Cup record books. His brace took his career World Cup tally to 22 goals, moving him one ahead of Argentina captain Lionel Messi to become the competition’s all-time leading scorer.
Mbappé also strengthened his grip on the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot, finishing the World Cup with 10 goals—two more than Messi.
Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé also found the net for France, but their goals proved insufficient to erase England’s commanding advantage.
England continued to threaten throughout the second half despite France’s resurgence, with Saka completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot late in the match before Jude Bellingham wrapped up the scoring in the eighth minute of stoppage time with his seventh goal of the tournament.
The victory handed England their best finish at a FIFA World Cup since lifting the trophy on home soil in 1966, providing a memorable end to their campaign after falling short of reaching the final.
While France were left to settle for fourth place, Mbappé’s individual brilliance ensured he departed the tournament with two major milestones, becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer and the frontrunner for the Golden Boot after another prolific campaign on football’s biggest stage.
