KOR
▲ England players celebrating
England finished in third place at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup after defeating France in a 10-goal thriller.
In the third-place playoff held at Miami Stadium in the United States, England took a commanding lead with four goals in the first half and held off a fierce second-half rally from France to win 6-4.
Bukayo Saka led England to victory by scoring a hat-trick.
After defeating the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, and Norway in the knockout stages, England suffered a comeback loss to Argentina in the semifinals. By winning this match, they managed to soothe some of the disappointment of failing to win their first title in 60 years.
England has now extended its lead in the head-to-head World Cup record against France to 3 wins and 1 loss.
France, the winner of the 2018 Russia World Cup and runner-up in the 2022 Qatar tournament, finished the competition in fourth place.
England will receive $29 million (approximately 43.2 billion KRW) in prize money, while France will receive $27 million.
French striker Kylian Mbappe recorded two goals and an assist, bringing his total tournament tally to 10 goals and 4 assists.
He has moved two steps ahead of Argentina's Lionel Messi (8 goals, 4 assists) in the race for the Golden Boot, with the final match still to come.
Furthermore, with 22 career World Cup goals, Mbappe has surpassed Messi by one goal to become the all-time leading scorer in the tournament's history.
Didier Deschamps, who has led France for 14 years, left the pitch with a smile despite the loss in his final match.
He had previously announced his intention to step down after this tournament.
Zinedine Zidane (France), the former manager of the Spanish professional club Real Madrid, is considered the leading candidate to succeed him.
Both teams rested some of their key players by leaving them out of the starting lineup.
England left Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on the bench, while France started with Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, and Dayot Upamecano as substitutes.
England opened the scoring just three minutes into the first half with a quick mid-range shot from Declan Rice.
France appeared discouraged by the early goal and struggled throughout a frustrating first half, while England continued their goal spree.
In the 18th minute, Ezri Konsa headed in a corner kick delivered by Rice from the left to make it 2-0.
Late in the first half, Saka scored twice with his left foot, extending England's lead to four goals.
France brought on key attackers Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola at the start of the second half.
Seemingly rejuvenated after the halftime break, the team showed improved performance, with Mbappe leading the attack.
Just three minutes into the second half, Mbappe finished a through ball from Michael Olise with his left foot from the center of the penalty area to score France's first goal.
Mbappe was also involved in France's second goal in the 9th minute of the second half.
He delivered a long pass from the left into the space behind the defense, which Barcola converted with a right-footed shot to find the net.
Mbappe did not stop there.
In the 21st minute of the second half, he exchanged quick one-two passes with Olise, bypassed a defender, and fired a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the goal.
England made tactical changes in the 34th minute of the second half by bringing on Bellingham and Elliot Anderson.
Saka completed his hat-trick in the 41st minute by converting a penalty kick earned by Djed Spence.
Earlier, France's Malo Gusto had conceded the penalty by tripping Spence as he broke into the penalty area.
Bellingham initially stood at the penalty spot, but he stepped aside to let Saka take the kick as he was on the verge of a hat-trick.
France's Dembele scored a goal in the 51st minute of the second half, but England secured third place with a clinching goal from Bellingham just two minutes later.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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