England vs France produced one of the most dramatic matches in FIFA World Cup history as England defeated France 6-4 to claim the bronze medal at the 2026 tournament.
Pakistan Women PCB Announces ODI and T20I Squads for Sri Lanka Tour
The thrilling contest featured 10 goals, making it the highest-scoring World Cup match since 1982.
England made a flying start. Declan Rice opened the scoring with a long-range strike inside the opening three minutes. Shortly afterward, Ezri Konsa headed in Rice’s corner to double England’s advantage.
Before halftime, Bukayo Saka struck twice to give the Three Lions a commanding 4-0 lead at the break.
However, France staged an impressive comeback after the interval. Head coach Didier Deschamps, taking charge of his final match after 14 years, introduced four substitutes at the start of the second half, including Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola.
The changes made an immediate impact. Kylian Mbappe scored within minutes of the restart to register his ninth goal of the tournament. Soon afterward, Bradley Barcola found the net to reduce England’s lead to 4-2.
Mbappe struck again in the 66th minute to make it 4-3. The goal also made him the all-time leading World Cup scorer and drew him level with Lionel Messi’s tally of 21 World Cup goals.
Nevertheless, England regained control late in the match. Saka completed his hat-trick by converting a penalty in the 87th minute to restore the two-goal cushion.
France refused to give up. Dembele scored in stoppage time to cut the deficit to 5-4 and set up a tense finish.
Finally, substitute Jude Bellingham sealed England’s victory with a goal in the 98th minute, securing a 6-4 win and the country’s best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966.
