Photo: AP
England defeated France 6-4 to secure third place at the World Cup in a high-scoring encounter at Miami Gardens. Bukayo Saka starred with a hat trick as England claimed its second-best finish in the tournament's history.
Saka opened his account in the 37th minute, added another goal in first-half stoppage time, and completed his hat trick with a penalty in the 87th minute. Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa also found the net before halftime, giving England a commanding 4-0 lead. Jude Bellingham added England's final goal deep into second-half stoppage time, taking his tournament tally to seven, Associated Press reported.
France mounted a spirited comeback in the second half through Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé. Mbappé scored twice to take his career World Cup tally to 22 goals, moving past Lionel Messi's record of 21. His 10 goals in the tournament also put him two ahead of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
Messi was set to have one final opportunity to challenge for the award when Argentina faced defending champion Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The 10-goal thriller became the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary's 10-1 victory over El Salvador in 1982 and the highest-scoring third-place playoff in tournament history.
Both England and France had earlier indicated that they would have preferred to be playing in the final. France, despite possessing a strong attack, missed out on a third consecutive World Cup final after losing to Spain in the semifinals. England's hopes of reaching the final ended after surrendering a 1-0 lead in a 2-1 semifinal defeat to Argentina, with Messi providing assists for both late goals.
A sellout crowd of 64,478 attended the final World Cup match at Hard Rock Stadium. The game also marked the end of Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure as France coach.
Deschamps had previously announced that he would step down after the tournament, and he embraced his players and acknowledged the crowd as he left the pitch.