England beat France 6-4 to claim World Cup bronze

Photo: FORTEPAN / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

England defeated France 6-4 in Miami on Saturday to secure third place at the 2026 World Cup, their best finish since winning the tournament in 1966.

Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute and Ezri Konsa doubled the lead 15 minutes later. Bukayo Saka then added two more goals before half-time as France struggled to contain England in the opening period.

France hit back after the break in what was Didier Deschamps' final match as manager after 14 years in charge. Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Bradley Barcola added a third to cut the deficit to 4-3.

Elliot Anderson came on as a substitute as France pressed for an equaliser. England won a penalty which Saka converted to complete his hat-trick and make it 5-3. Ousmane Dembele pulled one back to make it 5-4 before Jude Bellingham sealed the result deep in injury time.

Manchester City players Marc Guéhi and Elliot Anderson both featured for England, while City teammate Rayan Cherki started for France. England's squad also included City goalkeepers James Trafford and midfielder Nico O'Reilly.

Third place represents England's highest World Cup finish since their 1966 title. Attention now turns to Sunday's final in New Jersey, where City midfielder Rodri and Spain face Argentina at 20:00 (UK).