England claimed the bronze medal with a thrilling 6-4 win over France in the World Cup third-place playoff. Their victory at Hard Rock Stadium secured their best finish since winning the tournament in 1966.
The game was played on July 18, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and was refereed by Jesús Valenzuela. Both managers rotated heavily in a fixture neither side had wanted to contest.
Declan Rice captained England and opened the scoring in the third minute to set the tone. Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute, heading in after an assist from Rice.
Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 in the 37th minute after being set up by Marcus Rashford.
The Arsenal forward then added a fourth on the stroke of halftime, finishing a move created by Eberechi Eze in the 45th minute of first-half stoppage time.
France were transformed after the break following four halftime changes from Didier Deschamps. The departing coach introduced Lucas Digne, Dayot Upamecano, Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola in search of a response.
The changes sparked an immediate revival as Kylian Mbappé pulled one back in the 48th minute, assisted by Michael Olise. Barcola then made it 4-2 in the 54th minute when he finished from Mbappé’s assist.
Mbappé scored his second in the 66th minute, again supplied by Olise, to cut the deficit to 4-3. England looked in danger of letting a commanding lead slip completely.
England were handed a lifeline in the 86th minute when Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence inside the box. Saka converted the resulting penalty in the 87th minute to complete his hat-trick and restore a two-goal cushion.
France refused to settle and Dembélé made it 5-4 in the sixth minute of stoppage time, with Upamecano providing the assist.
Jude Bellingham then sealed the bronze in the 90th minute plus eight with a solo counter-attack after coming off the bench in the 79th minute.
The result gave England third place and their best World Cup finish since 1966, while captain Harry Kane remained on the bench. Thomas Tuchel had admitted beforehand that neither side wanted to play this match after missing the final.
For France, it marked the end of Deschamps’ 14-year tenure as head coach after a hugely successful spell. Ibrahima Konaté had said before kick-off that the squad wanted to repay their coach and secure the bronze medal.
Mbappé’s brace took his tournament tally to 10 goals, moving him clear of Lionel Messi on eight before Sunday’s final. England assistant Anthony Barry had warned at halftime that 11 lads were playing through pride despite broken hearts.
