Bukayo Saka scored a sensational hat-trick as England sealed a 6-4 win over France to win the bronze medal match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.
England were rampant in the first half and took a four-goal lead into the break, before a second half fightback from the French side closed the scoreline.
However, Saka scored a late penalty kick after a foul on Djed Spence by Malo Gusto to seal victory as the Three Lions claimed bronze medal over Les Bleus.
First half: England rout France in stunning performance
Both sides made a few changes to the starting lineup, but it was England who took the lead early in the game through Declan Rice, who fired in a superb effort into the corner.
Rayan Cherki was then denied by Dean Henderson, before England doubled their lead through Saka moments later. However, the Arsenal man had made his run too early and it was ruled out for offside.
England were not to be denied a second moments later as Ezri Konsa headed in a corner kick from Rice past Mike Maignan in the French goal.
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Marcus Rashford then produced a moment of brilliance, although he was thwarted by Maignan, before Henderson kept out Kylian Mbappe.
However, a double from Saka then completed a 4-0 scoreline as England took a massive advantage heading into the interval.
Second half: France fightback, England hold on for win
France were back in the game just a few minutes into the second half through Mbappe, who moved past Lionel Messi in the golden boot race.
Bradley Barcola, who had come in at halftime, then scored another to reduce the deficit to just two with several minutes still to play.
Michael Olise then wasted a glorious chance, before Mbappe doubled his tally on the night and moved on to 22 goals in the World Cup, becoming the highest goalscorer in the history of the tournament.
That strike took him past Messi on the all time list and also saw him move on to 10 goals for this edition, two more than Messi’s eight.
Olise then wasted another good chance as the game remained 4-3 with only a few minutes left to play in the encounter.
Jude Bellingham had a chance to extend England’s advantage but he took too many touches and was thwarted, before Olise was guilty once again with another missed opportunity.
The Three Lions were awarded a penalty for a foul on Djed Spence by Malo Gusto and Saka completed his hat-trick with an emphatic effort from 12 yards.
Ousmane Dembele scored once again to make the scoreline 5-4, but Bellingham had the final say, scoring a brilliant effort to seal a 6-4 win for England and give them the bronze medal win.
