Bukayo Saka delivered a spectacular hat trick to guide England to a 6-4 victory over France in a breathtaking, high-scoring FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Sunday, with teammates Jude Bellingham and Reece James rushing to congratulate him after he slotted home his third from the penalty spot.

The 10-goal thriller at Hard Rock Stadium established itself as one of the highest-scoring encounters in the history of the tournament, featuring the most goals ever recorded in a World Cup third-place playoff, and the highest aggregate scoreline since Hungary's 10-1 demolition of El Salvador back in 1982.

Saka spearheaded the early onslaught with a first-half brace, while Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa also found the back of the net before the interval to hand the Three Lions an seemingly insurmountable 4-0 advantage.

France, however, orchestrated a ferocious second-half revival courtesy of Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Kylian Mbappe.

A quickfire double from Mbappe dragged Les Bleus back to within a single goal at 4-3, before Saka's clinical spot-kick and a late stoppage-time insurance goal from Bellingham finally mathematically extinguished the French resistance.

Reflecting on the campaign, England manager Thomas Tuchel viewed the tournament as a definitive step forward, even with the lingering heartbreak of their 2-1 semifinal loss to Argentina where his side surrendered a 1-0 lead.

"We are fiercely competitive, so it is difficult to celebrate finishing third because our ambition was to reach the final and win the World Cup," Tuchel remarked in his post-match briefing.

"But this result can help us move closer to the level of teams like Argentina and France."

The victory also brought massive individual milestones. Bellingham’s late strike marked his seventh goal of the campaign, setting a historic new benchmark for the most goals scored by an English footballer in a single iteration of the World Cup.

He eclipses the previous national records held by team captain Harry Kane—who registered six goals in both this 2026 tournament and the 2018 edition—as well as Gary Lineker’s iconic six-goal haul from the 1986 tournament.

Concurrently, despite the defeat, Mbappe’s second-half double propelled him past Lionel Messi to claim the title of the highest all-time scorer in World Cup history, raising his grand career total to 22 goals.

Ten of those have arrived during this current campaign, positioning the French captain two goals clear of Messi in the tight race for the Golden Boot.

Messi, who currently sits on 21 lifetime World Cup goals and eight in this tournament, will have a final chance to overtake his rival when Argentina takes on Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Addressing the media following the final whistle, Mbappe conceded that while the personal accolades were notable, they felt secondary to team success.

"I always try to help my team score. Of course, scoring so many World Cup goals is special, but I would have preferred to be playing in tomorrow's final," the forward admitted, while adding that he fully anticipates Messi finding the net in the upcoming championship match.

The conclusion of the match simultaneously signaled the definitive end of Didier Deschamps' legendary 14-year reign as the head coach of France.

An emotional Deschamps embraced his squad on the pitch and waved to the traveling fans before walking down the tunnel for the final time.

Reflecting on the heavy loss, the veteran tactician noted that the squad was still mentally recovering from their semifinal exit, which severely impacted their abysmal first-half performance.

However, he remained firm that his immense legacy should not be overshadowed by their concluding performances, stating that he did not want his coaching career to be judged solely on the team's final two matches.

Source: AP