England secure World Cup third place with late surge against France
The result concludes the tournament for both nations and marks the end of Didier Deschamps’ tenure as France manager.
England have secured third place at the 2026 World Cup following a 6-4 victory over France in the third-place playoff match held in Miami on Saturday, 18 July 2026. The result concludes the tournament for both nations and marks the end of Didier Deschamps’ tenure as France manager, which is described as a record-breaking era in French football.
England established early dominance in the fixture, taking a 4-0 lead through goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa, followed by two strikes from Bukayo Saka. The commanding start left France seemingly out of contention as they trailed significantly at the interval.
France mounted a significant second-half comeback to narrow the deficit. Kylian Mbappé scored twice, continuing his pursuit of the Golden Boot, while Bradley Barcola added a goal to bring the score to 4-5. Saka had previously restored England’s two-goal cushion with a penalty, making it 5-3, but Ousmane Dembélé pulled one back to keep France’s hopes alive.
The decisive moment arrived in stoppage time. Jude Bellingham scored the winning goal in the 90+8th minute with a precise finish into the bottom right corner, sealing the 6-4 triumph for England and reasserting their control over the match.
The match served as the precursor to the World Cup final, which is scheduled to take place in New Jersey on Sunday, 19 July 2026. Spain, who defeated France 2-0 in the semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday, 14 July 2026, will face either England or Argentina in the final match.
