Saka hits three as England beat France in 10-goal thriller for third place

Stand-in skipper Declan Rice gave England the lead after three minutes.

Ezri Konsa doubled the advantage in the 18th minute as France appeared reluctant to make the effort.

And Saka added two more to make it 4-0 at half time.

The barrage forced France coach Didier Deschamps to act. In his final game as head coach, he made four substitutions for the second half and the changes reaped immediate dividends.

France skipper Kylian Mbappé notched up his ninth goal of the tournament shortly after the restart to get France on the board.

And Bradley Barcola, a substitute for Désiré Doué, made it 4-2 in the 54th minute.

Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise dazzle up front but Maignan makes it possible

Mbappé drew France to within one goal with his 10th strike of the 2026 tournamment and a record 22nd at the World Cup.

But after squandering chances to make it 4-4, France found themselves again facing a two-goal deficit.

Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence in the penalty area after 84 minutes and without Harry Kane the usual penalty taker, Saka stepped up to the spot.

The Arsenal striker sent France goalkeeper Mike Maignan the wrong way to become only the fouth England player to score three goals in a World Cup match.

But France were not finished
Ousmane Dembélé scored France's fourth after Rice gave the ball away.

But Jude Bellingham went on a barracking run to notch up England's sixth goal.

"We had some amazing results but we felt short against Argentina," Saka told Fox Sports.

"We finished strongly and that's all we could do. And we have done it."

England collected their bronze medals to register their best performance at a World Cup since they lifted the crown in 1966.