World Cup 2026: England hold off France's fightback to claim third place (6-4)
England raced into a 4-0 lead, but France's stunning fightback fell just short as Bellingham sealed a 6-4 win.
France
England- 90'⚽ Goal for England (Jude Bellingham)
- 90'⚽ Goal for France (Ousmane Dembélé)
- 90'Substitution: ↑ Trevoh Chalobah / ↓ Marc Guéhi. (England)
- 90'Substitution: ↑ Jules Koundé / ↓ Malo Gusto because of an injury. (France)
- 90'Final score: France 4 - 6 England
- 87'⚽ Penalty goal for England (Bukayo Saka)
- 83'Substitution: ↑ Reece James / ↓ Jarell Quansah because of an injury. (England)
- 79'Substitution: ↑ Jude Bellingham / ↓ Eberechi Eze. (England)
- 79'Substitution: ↑ Elliot Anderson / ↓ Ivan Toney. (England)
- 66'⚽ Goal for France (Kylian Mbappé)
- 54'⚽ Goal for France (Bradley Barcola)
- 48'⚽ Goal for France (Kylian Mbappé)
- 45'Second half begins
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Ollie Watkins / ↓ Marcus Rashford. (England)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Dayot Upamecano / ↓ Ibrahima Konaté. (France)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Lucas Digne / ↓ Théo Hernández. (France)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Bradley Barcola / ↓ Désiré Doué. (France)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Ousmane Dembélé / ↓ Rayan Cherki. (France)
- 45'Half-time
- 45'⚽ Goal for England (Bukayo Saka)
- 45'Half-time
- 37'⚽ Goal for England (Bukayo Saka)
- 18'⚽ Goal for England (Ezri Konsa)
- 3'⚽ Goal for England (Declan Rice)
- 0'Kick-off
- 0'Kick-off
England secured third place at the 2026 World Cup in a wild finish against France, winning 6-4 after leading 4-0 at half-time. Didier Deschamps' final match in charge of Les Bleus will be remembered as one of the tournament's most dramatic.
A one-sided first half
True to his pre-match announcement, Deschamps had fielded a heavily rotated side — and the gamble backfired badly. Declan Rice opened the scoring after just 3 minutes, before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead (18'). Bukayo Saka then struck twice before the break (37', 45') to send England in 4-0 up.
France's fightback
At half-time, Deschamps changed tack and turned to his stronger options: Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Lucas Digne and Dayot Upamecano all came on. The impact was immediate. Kylian Mbappé pulled one back in the 48th minute, before Barcola made it 2-4 (54'). Mbappé then added his second of the night (66') to bring France within one, 4-3.
A breathless finish
Just as France's comeback gathered pace, Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute (5-3). But Dembélé wasn't done: in the 90th minute he brought France back within a single goal (5-4), setting up a frantic finish. England's response was instant — moments later, Jude Bellingham scored the Three Lions' sixth to seal it, 6-4.
Key numbers
- Bukayo Saka: hat-trick (37', 45', 87' penalty)
- Kylian Mbappé: brace (48', 66')
- 10 goals in total — a rare tally for a third-place match
An eventful send-off for Didier Deschamps, who leaves the France bench on a dramatic defeat, having watched his side narrowly fall short of one of the tournament's biggest comebacks.
