England beat France to win first World Cup medal in 60 years

England beat France in the third-place play-off at the 2026 World Cup to win their first medal in 60 years.

Heading into the match at Miami Stadium in the United States, England had not won a World Cup medal since the 1966 tournament. This was also Didier Deschamps' final match as France coach. England beat France 6-4 in tonight's third-place play-off.

France were short of their best in the first half, while England repeatedly threatened on the counter-attack, with Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford posing a particular danger.

Declan Rice, who captained England in the match, gave his side the lead in the third minute with a shot from outside the penalty area. Ezri Konsa then extended England's lead from a corner delivered by Rice.

By eight minutes before half-time, Saka had scored twice for England, with assists from Rashford and Eberechi Eze. England went into the break leading 4-0.

France mounted a strong attacking response, scoring twice in the first nine minutes of the second half through Kylian Mbappé and substitute Bradley Barcola. Mbappé's goal took him to the top of the tournament's scoring charts with nine goals.

Mbappé scored again for France in the 66th minute, breaking the record for the most goals in World Cup history. His tally of 22 goals surpassed the record held by Lionel Messi, who had scored 21.

As France continued to launch attacks, England were awarded a penalty after Malo Gusto fouled Djed Spence inside the penalty area. Saka converted the penalty to complete his hat-trick and score England's fifth goal.

Both teams scored in second-half stoppage time. Ousmane Dembélé scored France's fourth, while Jude Bellingham scored England's sixth.