{"id":811210,"date":"2026-07-19T01:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T01:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/811210\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T01:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T01:23:12","slug":"france-4-6-england-stats-three-lions-secure-third-place-after-10-goal-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/811210\/","title":{"rendered":"France 4-6 England Stats: Three Lions Secure Third Place After 10-Goal Thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>\u2018s third-place play-off was a 10-goal thriller headlined by Bukayo Saka and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, with England coming out on top.<\/p>\n

Bukayo Saka<\/a>\u2018s hat-trick helped England<\/a> seal their best World Cup finish since 1966, beating France<\/a> 6-4 in a breathless third-place play-off that also saw Kylian Mbapp\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0become the tournament\u2019s all-time leading goalscorer.<\/p>\n

Thomas Tuchel was booed by some England fans prior to kick-off, amid fierce criticism of his defensive tactics during Wednesday\u2019s semi-final defeat to Argentina.<\/p>\n

But the Three Lions certainly did not sit back in Miami, even with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham dropping to the bench. Declan Rice<\/a> and Ezri Konsa<\/a> struck to put them 2-0 up after 18 minutes, before Saka added two more goals late in the first half.<\/p>\n

France came storming back after the interval, though, with Mbapp\u00e9\u00a0overtaking Lionel Messi \u2013 at least temporarily \u2013 as the World Cup\u2019s all-time leading scorer with his two goals, which came either side of a powerful finish from substitute Bradley Barcola<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saka\u2019s 87th-minute penalty pulled England clear again, and even though Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9<\/a> reintroduced some nerves in stoppage time, substitute Bellingham scored the clinching goal to ensure a losing end to Didier Deschamps\u2019s 14-year France reign.<\/p>\n

The scoring started as early as the third minute, with Rice picking off a terrible pass from D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9 before raiding forward and drilling into the far corner from range.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rayan Cherki saw an effort swatted away by England\u2019s stand-in goalkeeper Dean Henderson, but Les Bleus continued to look ragged at the other end, and they were saved by the offside flag when Saka finished neatly across goal.<\/p>\n

A near-identical move saw another Saka shot deflect behind, but England kept the pressure on and from the resulting corner, Rice\u2019s delivery was glanced into the far corner by Konsa.<\/p>\n

And there was still more to come from the Three Lions. France\u2019s defence was all at sea for the third goal in the 37th minute, with Marcus Rashford inexplicably allowed to run clean through on goal from inside his own half. Rashford was initially thwarted by Mike Maignan, but he recovered to turn provider for Saka.<\/p>\n

And Saka applied another pinpoint finish into the bottom-right corner in stoppage time, after Eberechi Eze\u2019s through-ball split the France backline straight down the middle.<\/p>\n

Deschamps reacted by making four half-time substitutions, though Mbapp\u00e9 stayed on and moved level with Messi in the all-time World Cup goal charts \u2013 and ahead in the 2026 Golden Boot race \u2013 when he finished left-footed in the 48th minute.<\/p>\n

France had hope of a comeback when Barcola slammed home at the near post six minutes later, and another fine link-up between Michael Olise<\/a> and Mbapp\u00e9 led to the latter\u2019s record-breaking 22nd World Cup goal in the 66th minute. It was also Olise\u2019s seventh assist of the tournament, making him the player with the most assists at a single edition of the World Cup on record (since 1966).<\/p>\n

\"Olise<\/p>\n

Olise wasted two glaring chances to equalise for France, the second being a particularly poor finish from near the penalty spot, before Djed Spence capped his breakout tournament by darting forward to be fouled by Malo Gusto, allowing Saka to slot home from the spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dembele\u2019s cultured, left-footed finish gave France hope of one last push to force extra time, but a gutsy solo effort from Bellingham capped an incredible contest and made the bronze medal safe for England.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"France<\/p>\n

Mbapp\u00e9\u00a0Overtakes Messi, but Saka Outdoes France Superstar\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tuchel\u2019s ill-fated move to a back five after England took the lead against Argentina has been dissected at length, though the German has since said he does not regret that decision \u2013 a comment that clearly irked some of those in attendance in Florida.<\/p>\n

And even with Tuchel making seven changes to his starting lineup, the Three Lions took out their frustrations on a lacklustre France side throughout the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rice got the rout started with a goal and an assist, becoming the sixth England player to do both in a World Cup game and the third to do so in 2026, after Bellingham versus Panama and Harry Kane against Mexico.<\/p>\n

No team has ever avoided defeat after trailing by four goals in a World Cup match, though France threatened to do exactly that when they came roaring back in the second half.<\/p>\n

Mbapp\u00e9\u2019s brace took him one goal clear of Messi in the all-time World Cup charts (22 to 21) and two clear for this tournament (10 to eight) ahead of Argentina\u2019s final meeting with Spain. He is the first player to reach double figures at a single edition since West Germany\u2019s Gerd Muller in 1970.<\/p>\n

\"Kylian<\/p>\n

Many might have expected the France captain to leave with the match ball at that point, but that honour went to Saka \u2013 only the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout-stage match, after Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final.<\/p>\n

There was also a piece of history for Bellingham, who became England\u2019s highest scorer at a single World Cup or Euros (seven goals) and finally killed off a manic contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"France<\/p>\n

Our Opta match centre delivers you all the France vs England stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup third\/fourth place play-off at Miami Stadium on Saturday 18 July.<\/p>\n

The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.<\/p>\n

Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

France 4-6 England: Post-Match Opta Facts<\/p>\n

This was the first FIFA World Cup game to see 10 or more goals scored since Hungary 10-1 El Salvador in 1982 and the first knockout stage match since Austria 7-5 Switzerland in 1954.<\/p>\n

Bukayo Saka is the second England player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA World Cup knockout stage match after Sir Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final. The only other player to score a treble vs France in the competition is Brazil\u2019s Pel\u00e9 in 1958.<\/p>\n

England scored four first half goals in a FIFA World Cup knockout stage match for the first time, and for the second time overall after the 2018 group stage vs Panama (led 5-0).<\/p>\n

France conceded six goals in a FIFA World Cup match for the very first time and they trailed by four goals at half-time of any match for the first time since April 1930 (1-5 vs Belgium).\u00a0<\/p>\n

England have achieved their second-best finish at the FIFA World Cup (3rd place), behind their 1966 success on home soil.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the 11th attempt, England have won a FIFA World Cup game against an opponent ranked higher than them in the FIFA World Rankings for only the second time, previously beating Argentina 1-0 in 2002 (D1 L8).<\/p>\n

This was Didier Deschamps\u2019 187th and final game in charge of France and the most goals his side have conceded in a match under him. It is the first time France have conceded six times in a match overall since 1960 (2-6 vs Switzerland).<\/p>\n

Jude Bellingham\u2019s seven goals are the outright most ever by an England player at a single FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship tournament.<\/p>\n

France 4-6 England is the game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the most shots on target (20) and the highest combined xG tally (5.7); 20 shots on target is the most at the tournament since Belgium vs USA in 2014 (22).<\/p>\n

With two goals and an assist against England, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 has now recorded the most goal involvements on record (since 1966) at a single FIFA World Cup tournament (14 \u2013 10 goals, 4 assists).<\/p>\n

France\u2019s Michael Olise is the first player on record (since 1966) to record seven assists in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

Michael Olise has provided five assists to Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup \u2013 it is the most assists one player has provided for a teammate on record (since 1966) at a single edition of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Declan Rice\u2019s opener was England\u2019s second earliest goal in a FIFA World Cup game (2:14), behind only Bryan Robson\u2019s goal against France after 28 seconds in 1982.<\/p>\n

This was England\u2019s first major tournament game (World Cup\/EURO) without Jordan Pickford starting in goal since EURO 2016 vs Iceland (Joe Hart); it ended a Three Lions\u2019 record for the most consecutive starts made by a player at those competitions (33 in a row).\u00a0<\/p>\n

England started three Arsenal players in a FIFA World Cup game (Rice, Saka, Eze) for the first time since 2002 against Brazil (Seaman, Campbell, Cole).<\/p>\n

\"FIFA<\/a><\/p>\n

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