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England beat France 6-4 in the FIFA World Cup third-place match on Saturday, July 18, 2026. The game took place at Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. England raced into a 4-0 lead by half time.
France fought back to 4-3, then 5-4, but could not catch up. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick, and Jude Bellingham struck the winner in stoppage time.
Here are the numbers and moments behind one of the best third-place games in World Cup history.
Final score: England 6, France 4
England won 6-4 in Miami. The match produced 10 goals in total. This makes it the highest-scoring third-place game in World Cup history. France had set the old record with a 6-3 win over West Germany back in 1958.
A 4-0 lead by halftime
Declan Rice opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a curling strike from distance. Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute, heading in from a Rice corner.
Bukayo Saka then scored twice before the break, in the 37th minute and again in first-half stoppage time. England led 4-0 at half time.
France claws back to 4-3
Kylian Mbappé pulled a goal back in the 48th minute with a first-time finish. Bradley Barcola made it 4-2 in the 54th minute. Mbappé struck again in the 66th minute to bring France within one goal, at 4-3.
England won a penalty in the 87th minute after Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence in the box. Saka stepped up and scored to complete his hat-trick, making it 5-3.
Two goals in the final minutes
Ousmane Dembele scored deep in stoppage time to pull France back to 5-4. Two minutes later, Jude Bellingham dribbled past three France defenders and scored to make it 6-4. His goal sealed the win for England.
Mbappé passes Messi as the all-time top scorer
Mbappé’s 48th-minute goal tied Lionel Messi’s record of 21 career World Cup goals. His 66th-minute goal moved him ahead with 22.
Mbappé also finished the 2026 World Cup as the top scorer, with 10 goals, two more than Messi.
England’s best finish since 1966
Third place is England’s best World Cup finish since the team won the tournament in 1966. Manager Thomas Tuchel called it the team’s first medal in 60 years.
The two sides combined for 38 shots, 19 each. 20 of those shots hit the target. The 10 goals mark the most in a World Cup match since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.
Both teams made seven changes from their semifinal lineups. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham did not start for England. Dean Henderson played in goal instead of Jordan Pickford. Declan Rice wore the captain’s armband for the match.
Deschamps’s last match in charge
The game was Didier Deschamps’s final match as France coach after 14 years in the job. France had lost 2-0 to Spain in the semifinal. England had lost 2-1 to Argentina in a late collapse.
Every FIFA World Cup third-place match winner
The 2026 result gives England its first third-place finish. It also makes Germany the only country with four third-place finishes. Here is the full list.
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 1930 | United States* | — | Yugoslavia |
| 1934 | Germany | 3-2 | Austria |
| 1938 | Brazil | 4-2 | Sweden |
| 1950 | Sweden* | — | Spain |
| 1954 | Austria | 3-1 | Uruguay |
| 1958 | France | 6-3 | West Germany |
| 1962 | Chile | 1-0 | Yugoslavia |
| 1966 | Portugal | 2-1 | Soviet Union |
| 1970 | West Germany | 1-0 | Uruguay |
| 1974 | Poland | 1-0 | Brazil |
| 1978 | Brazil | 2-1 | Italy |
| 1982 | Poland | 3-2 | France |
| 1986 | France | 4-2 | Belgium |
| 1990 | Italy | 2-1 | England |
| 1994 | Sweden | 4-0 | Bulgaria |
| 1998 | Croatia | 2-1 | Netherlands |
| 2002 | Turkey | 3-2 | South Korea |
| 2006 | Germany | 3-1 | Portugal |
| 2010 | Germany | 3-2 | Uruguay |
| 2014 | Netherlands | 3-0 | Brazil |
| 2018 | Belgium | 2-0 | England |
| 2022 | Croatia | 2-1 | Morocco |
| 2026 | England | 6-4 | France |
*No third-place match was played in 1930 or 1950. FIFA recognized the United States as third in 1930. Sweden finished third in 1950 based on the final group stage.
What comes next
The World Cup final follows on Sunday. Argentina will play Spain at New York-New Jersey Stadium to decide the champion.
