England came out flying against France in the World Cup’s third-place match Saturday, building a 4-0 lead in the first half.
Bukayo Saka found the net twice in the first 45 minutes, one of which was a chaotic goal for the Three Lions’ third of the game.
For viewers in United States only:
ENGLAND SCORES ITS THIRD GOAL OF THE HALF 🤯
Saka makes it a 3-0 lead over France after a long sequence for the Three Lions pic.twitter.com/vvhMS3q0KX
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 18, 2026
For viewers in Canada only:
ENGLAND MAKE IT 3-0 OFF A WILD SEQUENCE! pic.twitter.com/upyHjdUd7d
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 18, 2026
Declan Rice opened the scoring for England in the third minute with a flawless strike from outside the box. He then delivered a perfect cross on a corner kick to Ezri Konsa to double the Three Lions’ lead.
Thomas Tuchel made several changes to England’s starting lineup for the match, including putting Harry Kane on the bench. Didier Deschamps, who’s coaching France for the last time at a major tournament, also changed his starting XI, though Kylian Mbappe started with the Golden Boot race on the line.
Mbappe scored twice in the second half to take the solo lead in the Golden Boot race over Lionel Messi and become the World Cup’s all-time scoring leader with 22 goals.
France scored four goals in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. Saka completed his hat-trick in crunch time to give England a thrilling 6-4 victory and seal the Three Lions’ best World Cup campaign since 1966.