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Kylian Mbappe scored twice to give France a World Cup record but England won 6-4 in the third-leg final.
Published on 18 Jul 2026
England beat France 6-4 in a third-leg World Cup tie as Kylian Mbappe became the top scorer in World Cup history.
Both teams had high ambitions for the 2026 tournament but suffered painful exits in the semi-finals – France were played by Spain while England fell late to Argentina.
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Both coaches made several changes during Saturday’s game in the sweltering Miami heat, with many stars on the bench to begin with.
England manager Thomas Tuchel left out Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham in the starting line-up while Deschamps, stepping down after 14 years in charge, left out Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice put England ahead with a goal from distance in the third minute and Ezri Konsa headed home to make it 2-0.
Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were a threat as France searched for a way back into the game but they found England midfielder Dean Henderson in second place.
The game threatened to embarrass France when Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 after a quick break.
And it was 4-0 in the first half when Saka scored his second goal of the game, celebrating by punching Tuchel.
France coach Didier Deschamps told French TV channel M6 that the first-half performance was “terrible”, urging his men to show their pride.
He made four changes, bringing on Dembele, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola and was immediately rewarded when Mbappe scored his ninth goal of the tournament to dislodge Lionel Messi from the top of the Golden Boot standings.
The game had changed completely and Barcola pulled another goal back, Deschamps punching the bench.
Mbappe then scored his second goal of the game to become the all-time leading scorer at the World Cup with 22 goals – overtaking Olise.
That put him two ahead of Messi in the race to finish as the game’s top scorer in 2026.
France wasted a number of chances to equalize and England were given the chance to extend their lead when Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence in the penalty area.
Saka reached the spot and turned to complete his hat-trick.
There was time for Dembele to grab France’s fourth, but Bellingham stepped up to score his 10th goal of the game with an individual effort.
In doing so Bellingham became the first England player to score seven goals at the World Cup.
Finishing third, England achieved their best result at the World Cup since they won the tournament in 1966, although they will remember the pain of their defeat to defenders Argentina.
Deschamps led France to World Cup glory in 2018 and finished as runners-up four years ago.
Les Bleus were favorites to win the 2026 tournament after an impressive start but were beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semi-finals.
Three-time champions Argentina face European champions Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.
