Kylian Mbappe set a milestone with the first double-digit World Cup goal tally in 56 years, but he was not the star of the day. England claimed their best World Cup finish in 60 years, since winning the 1968 tournament on home soil, capping their campaign on a high note.
England defeated France 6-4 in the third-place playoff at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held at Miami Stadium in the United States on the 19th, Korea time. Third-place England and fourth-place France will receive prize money of $29 million (about 43.2 billion won) and $27 million (about 40.2 billion won), respectively.
France's Mbappe fought hard with two goals and one assist, but could not prevent his team's defeat. He scored in the 48th and 66th minutes, but France had already conceded four goals in the first half. With the two goals added on the day, Mbappe reached 10 goals in the tournament, setting the first double-digit World Cup finals scoring record in 56 years, since Gerd Muller (Germany, 10 goals and three assists) in 1970.
After the match, Mbappe expressed his disappointment, saying, "If I could choose, I would have chosen to play in the final rather than become the all-time top scorer at the World Cup." Adding his four goals from the 2018 Russia tournament, where France won, and eight goals from the 2022 Qatar tournament, where they finished runners-up, he has scored 22 goals in his World Cup career.
Both teams eased off, leaving key players out of the starting lineup. England benched Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, while France left Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Dayot Upamecano on the bench. England surged to a 4-0 lead in the first half alone, starting with Declan Rice's opening goal in the 3rd minute, followed by an additional goal from Ezri Konsa in the 18th minute, and consecutive goals from Bukayo Saka in the 37th minute and stoppage time.
France launched a counterattack at the start of the second half, bringing on starting forwards Dembele and Barcola, and piled on three goals by the 66th minute to heavily pressure England. However, Saka completed his hat trick with a penalty kick in the 86th minute to make it 5-3. France pulled one back again with a goal from Dembele in second-half stoppage time, but conceded a clinching goal to Bellingham two minutes later. England repaid their 1-2 loss to France in the Qatar World Cup quarterfinals.
