England claimed the bronze medal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating France 6-4 in a thrilling third-place playoff at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday night.
The Three Lions stormed into a commanding 4-0 lead before halftime, with Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice opening the scoring in the third minute. Ezra Konsa doubled England’s advantage in the 18th minute, before Bukayo Saka struck twice in the 27th and first-half stoppage time (45+1) to give England complete control heading into the break.
France mounted a spirited comeback in the second half and rediscovered their rhythm, scoring three goals through Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola to reduce the deficit. However, England restored their cushion after Saka calmly converted a penalty to complete his hat-trick. Ousmane Dembélé grabbed a late consolation goal for France, but England held on to seal a dramatic 6-4 victory.
As it stands, Kylian Mbappé, who won the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, is the favourite to claim the award again in 2026 with 10 goals. Although, the race is still open and will depend on how many goals Lionel Messi scores against Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final.
