England have won the third place match at the 2026 Men’s World Cup, defeating France 6-4 in Miami Gardens, FL on SAT 18 JUL 2026. England led the match 4-0 at halftime in one of the highest scoring matches ever at a Men’s World Cup.

Both sides made seven changes from their starting lineups in the semifinals, but it was one of England’s holdbacks, Declan RICE, who opened the scoring in the third minute. Ezri KONSA made it 2-0 fifteen minutes later, and Bukayo SAKA added a brace before the interval.

France manager Didier DESCHAMPS made four changes at halftime, and the moves paid off handsomely as Kylian MBAPPÉ scored three minutes after the restart. Bradley BARCOLA added another shortly thereafter, followed by Mbappé’s second of the match and tenth of the tournament. He is the first player since Gerd MÜLLER in 1970 to score ten goals in a single Men’s World Cup tournament.

Now leading 4-3, the Three Lions were reeling, but continued to search for another goal. In the 85th minute, Malo GUSTO brought down Djed SPENCE in the area. Saka scored the penalty to complete his hat trick, but Ousmane DEMBÉLÉ scored in stoppage time to bring les Bleus within one goal again. Jude BELLINGHAM, who had entered earlier in the half, scored his seventh of the tournament at the death.

England were awarded the bronze medals, their best finish since winning the title in 1966. The match is the highest scoring in this tournament, and the highest scoring at a Men’s World Cup since Hungary defeated El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.