England beat France 6-4 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup third place play-off at the Miami Stadium on Saturday evening.
Declan Rice gave England the lead inside the third minute. He intercepted Desire Doue’s pass on the halfway line and surged forward before finding the bottom corner.
Advertisement
Marcus Rashford almost doubled their lead, but his shot was deflected behind for a corner by Malo Gusto.
Bukayo Saka then thought he had found the net after racing through on goal, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Ezri Konsa made it 2-0 in the 18th minute, heading Rice’s corner past Mike Maignan.
Saka eventually added a third in the 37th minute, guiding Rashford’s pass into an empty net.
The Arsenal forward compounded France’s woes just before the break, latching onto Eberechi Eze’s pass to pick out the far corner.
Three minutes after the interval, Kylian Mbappe pulled one back for France, registering his ninth goal of the tournament.
Advertisement
The Real Madrid star turned provider in the 54th minute, setting up Bradley Barcola, who fired past Henderson to halve Les Bleus’ deficit.
Mbappe made it 4-3 after the hour mark, combining with Olise before slotting tbe ball into the bottom corner. He has now become the World Cup all-time leading goalscorer.
Olise squandered a big chanc in the 80th minute, flashing his shot wide from a promising position.
Four minutes from time, Saka made it 5-3 from the penalty spot, before Ousmane Dembele pulled another back for France.
Jude Bellingham sealed England’s victory with a brilliant individual goal just before full time.
Read the full article here
