England concluded their World Cup campaign with a stunning 6-4 victory over France in Miami, securing their best finish at the tournament since 1966. The third-place play-off, often dismissed as the most unnecessary game of the World Cup, lived up to its reputation as a goal fest.
Hat-trick hero Saka leads the charge
Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick for Thomas Tuchel's side, while Ezri Konsa, Declan Rice, and substitute Jude Bellingham also found the net. England's fastest goal in a competitive game since Luke Shaw's opener in the 2020 European Championship final came through Rice's solo effort after just two minutes and 14 seconds.
Positive end to a disappointing campaign
The manner of Wednesday's semi-final defeat against Argentina had stung England fans, but victory by scoring six goals provided effective pain relief. England's two previous experiences of the third-place play-off had ended in defeat, in 1990 against Italy and in 2018 against Belgium. Third time lucky, England came flying out of the traps, with Rice's early strike setting the tone.
According to Standard Sport's Dom Smith, the performance reminded England fans that the national team will be among the favourites at Euro 2028 and that they are not half-bad at attacking, at least.
Problems protecting the lead resurface
England's great retreat after Anthony Gordon's opener against Argentina was a difficult sight for fans who had seen it before. Conceding in the 85th and 92nd minutes and exiting the World Cup showed England still find it psychologically difficult to manage a lead in big knockout games. However, in this match, England did not park their attacking instincts, scoring goals three and four as Saka scored twice.
The start of the second half showed a different France, more intense in the press and clinical in the final third. The score went from 4-1 to 4-2 to 4-3, putting England in a game. It took Tuchel to summon Elliot Anderson and Bellingham off the bench for England to turn a corner. They did so, scoring through Saka's penalty, conceding a fine goal to Ousmane Dembele, but then making sure of their bronze medals as Bellingham scored one of the tournament's great solo goals.
Emotion pours out from the England camp
Anthony Barry, the England assistant head coach, gave a revealing interview to the BBC. "I'm a little bit emotional," he admitted. "I can't find the words to describe just how proud I am of these players. They're playing a game with broken hearts. I see 11 lads out on the field with broken hearts. I've seen them in the hotel the last few days with broken hearts. And they can build a performance like that just through pride of playing for England. The team spirit we built the last seven weeks has just been a privilege to watch. I know the cynics will say it's too late, but we are still playing against a world-class opponent. I'm proud of the team, and hopefully everyone back home is as well."
Even accounting for the lack of competitive edge in the 'bronze final', England put on a thrilling show to close out an impressive, if ultimately unsuccessful, World Cup campaign in real style.
