France vs England Review
England claimed their first-ever victory in a FIFA World Cup third-place match by defeating France 6-4 in an exciting game in Miami, marking the end of Didier Deschamps’ successful 14-year tenure as coach of Les Bleus with a loss. Determination was expected to play a crucial role in this battle between the losing semi-finalists, and it showed during a highly one-sided first half. Despite missing Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, England took the lead in under three minutes. Acting captain Declan Rice intercepted a pass from Désiré Doué and advanced unopposed before expertly placing the ball into the far corner from outside the penalty area.
Although Bukayo Saka had a goal disallowed for offside, England extended their lead within 20 minutes when Ezri Konsa headed in a corner delivered by Rice. France’s defense was vulnerable, and aside from the energetic Kylian Mbappé, they posed very little danger going forward. Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel’s team played confidently, exemplified by Marcus Rashford, who skillfully nutmegged Warren Zaïre-Emery before unleashing a long-range shot that forced Mike Maignan into a remarkable save.
However, that was only a brief respite for Les Bleus, as they conceded a third goal when Rashford and Saka combined on a counterattack. Both had their initial attempts blocked before Rashford set up the Arsenal winger to score. England then astonishingly scored a fourth goal in first-half stoppage time when Eberechi Eze passed to his Arsenal teammate Saka, who placed the ball into the bottom corner, capping off an extraordinary first half and likely increasing the frustration from their previous meek defeat to Argentina in the semi-final.
Deschamps’ dissatisfaction was evident as he made four substitutions at halftime, and France responded immediately by narrowing the deficit. Mbappé scored after a pass from Michael Olise, making him the clear leader in the race for the 2026 Golden Boot. Mbappé then became the assister, setting up substitute Bradley Barcola to reduce the deficit to two goals, a lead that Maignan maintained with an excellent save to deny Ivan Toney’s header.
This save proved even more crucial when a sharp French attack saw Olise break the record for the most assists in a single World Cup (seven), setting up Mbappé to score his 22nd goal in the tournament, surpassing Lionel Messi as the all-time top scorer in the competition. He also became the first player since Gerd Müller in 1970 to score double digits in goals at a single World Cup.
However, his efforts were not enough to complete the French comeback. After Olise missed a clear chance to equalize, England earned a penalty when Djed Spence was brought down by Malo Gusto inside the box, and Saka calmly converted from 12 yards to complete his hat-trick. Ousmane Dembélé reignited the match by scoring the ninth goal deep into stoppage time, but Jude Bellingham quickly ended France’s resistance by breaking away and scoring his seventh goal of the tournament, the most by an England player at a single World Cup, securing England’s best finish in the competition since their 1966 victory.
