The third-place playoff is supposed to be a dead rubber.
On Saturday in New Jersey, England and France ripped up that script with a 10-goal epic that became the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary dismantled El Salvador in 1982.
England claimed bronze with a 6-4 victory that featured a Bukayo Saka hat-trick, a Kylian Mbappe double that made him the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, and a second half so chaotic that neither coaching staff could do anything but watch.
Four-Goal Halftime Lead That Nearly Wasn’t Enough
England were utterly dominant before the break. Declan Rice opened the scoring, Ezri Konsa powered home a header, and Saka struck twice to put Gareth Southgate’s side 4-0 up. The MetLife Stadium crowd, heavy with England supporters who had watched their team fall to Argentina in the semifinals, looked set for a comfortable afternoon.
France, who lost their own semifinal to Spain, appeared shell-shocked. Les Bleus had been the tournament’s most talented squad on paper, yet they trudged into the tunnel looking like a team that had already booked flights home.
Mbappe Rewrites the Record Books in Defeat
What happened after halftime will be replayed for decades. Ousmane Dembele pulled one back, then Mbappe took over. His 66th-minute strike was his 21st career World Cup goal, tying Lionel Messi’s all-time record. Minutes later, he slotted home again to claim the record outright with 22.
It is a bittersweet milestone. Mbappe, at 27, now owns a record that seemed untouchable when Messi set it across six tournaments and 20 years. But individual glory means little when your team concedes six. Messi himself gets one more shot at reclaiming it when Argentina face Spain in Sunday’s final.
Bradley Barcola added France’s fourth, and suddenly the impossible was on. A 4-4 draw felt inevitable.
Bellingham Slams the Door
Jude Bellingham had been relatively quiet by his standards. Then, in the 82nd minute, he collected a loose ball at the edge of the box and drove a low shot into the far corner. Saka completed his hat-trick moments later, and England had somehow converted a near-collapse into their best World Cup result since Geoff Hurst and 1966.
The 6-4 scoreline is remarkable on its own. Ten goals in a World Cup knockout-round match has no precedent in the modern era. The last time any World Cup game produced double digits was that ’82 blowout, and that was a group-stage mismatch, not a competitive match between two of Europe’s elite.
What This Means for English Football
For a nation that has spent 60 years cycling through heartbreak, near-misses, and “football’s coming home” irony, third place might sound like another consolation prize. But the context matters. England played seven matches in this tournament, scored 19 goals, and only lost to the eventual finalists. Saka finishes with seven tournament goals. Bellingham cemented his status as the best midfielder of his generation.
The bigger question is whether this squad peaks here or carries momentum into Euro 2028. Southgate’s contract expires this summer, and the Football Association will face pressure to decide quickly. If he leaves, he does so with England’s best tournament finish in living memory, which as exits go, is not a bad one.
France, meanwhile, will spend the next two years debating whether Didier Deschamps overstayed his welcome. His team conceded 10 goals across the semifinal and third-place match. Talent alone does not fix defensive structure, and this World Cup exposed that gap brutally.
The final between Spain and Argentina kicks off Sunday. But Saturday belonged to a match that nobody expected and everyone will remember, according to ESPN’s post-match analysis. The third-place game just became a World Cup classic that rewrote multiple records.