England and France delivered a thriller in a World Cup match that was supposed to be an afterthought.
A day before Lionel Messi and Argentina were set to try and defend their title in a highly anticipated final, Bukayo Saka scored three goals to lead England past Kylian Mbappé and France 6-4 in a wild third-place game.
Mbappé surpassed Messi's record for World Cup goals, scoring twice in the second half. The 27-year-old star has 22 goals in his career and 10 in this World Cup, two ahead of Messi in the Golden Boot race.
It was the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982, and the 10 goals were the most in a third-place match.
Saka had goals in the 37th minute and in first-half stoppage time, then added his third on a penalty in the 87th for his second career hat trick with England. The Three Lions also got goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa to build a 4-0 halftime lead, and they hung on against a relentless France attack in the second half to secure their second-best finish in the World Cup. England won its only title in 1966.
“I hope that the players can be proud of that in some time,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said. “We are fiercely competitive, so we almost don’t allow ourselves to be proud of third place because 18 months ago we set the highest goal. We set the highest dream to chase, and we were very, very ambitious with our dream to make it to the final and win the World Cup. So it's very, very painful if you miss out.”
Tuchel said he viewed England's World Cup run as a success despite its collapse in the semifinals. The Three Lions blew a 1-0 lead against Argentina and lost 2-1 when Messi assisted on two late goals.
Tuchel was criticized for his tactical decisions in the loss, with many wondering what it will take for England to end its decades-long wait for another trophy.
He said Saturday's result was the first step toward closing the gap with teams like Argentina and France.
“This game will help us for sure,” he said, “even if a part will never allow you to fully celebrate the bronze medal.”
Jude Bellingham capped the scoring in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time, his seventh goal of the tournament and the most in a World Cup by an England player. Captain Harry Kane scored six this year and in 2018, and Gary Lineker had six in 1986.
Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé also scored in the second half for France, which pulled within 4-3 on Mbappé's second goal.
Messi — with 21 career World Cup goals and eight in this tournament — will get one last shot to pass Mbappé for the scoring title when he and defending champion Argentina face Spain on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Mbappé also won the Golden Boot four years ago, when France lost the final to Argentina on penalties.
“Leo scores all the time,” Mbappé told Fox Sports in French. “Tomorrow he will score for sure. I just try to help my team every time to score. It's certain that when you score so many goals in the World Cup, it elevates you to certain levels. I would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history and play in the match tomorrow.”
Both teams had said they’d rather be playing in Sunday's final. France had enough offensive firepower to potentially win the tournament, but Les Bleus lost to Spain in the semifinals and squandered their chance at reaching a third straight World Cup final.
Still, a sellout crowd of 64,478 showed up to watch the seventh and final match of this World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium.
Plenty of supporters were cheering for both teams. Many were there simply for the atmosphere of the low-stakes match, and it more than delivered.
“I love English football,” said Gaston Esquivel, a native of Mexico City who came to support England. “I’ve followed the Premier League since I was a kid. I am a Manchester United fan. I like their style, I like their game.”
Thomas Viel, who traveled from Paris to follow France throughout the tournament, was hoping to see a hat trick by Mbappé. He nearly got his wish.
France trailed 4-0 when Mbappé flicked a shot past goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the 48th minute. Then he beat Henderson again with a left-footed strike from about 14 yards in the 66th.
“I think Messi will not score a hat trick tomorrow,” Viel said.
It was also the final match for France coach Didier Deschamps, who has said he will step down after 14 years. Deschamps embraced players and waved toward the crowd as he exited the pitch.
“We were not expecting such a first half,” Deschamps said through an interpreter. “And we did better in the second half. We were deeply disappointed, gutted after the semis. I don't want to sum up my career on this moment.”
