France v England
Play By Play
That will go down as one of the best World Cup games of all time! England have defeated France 6-4 at Miami Stadium to finish third at the 2026 World Cup! Rice set the tone for the match early on, scoring a curler from distance in the third minute before assisting Konsa's header from a corner soon afterwards. Tuchel's side entered the break with a 4-0 lead after Saka first tapped in from Rashford's unselfish pass before scoring a second with a brilliant finish from the edge of the box. France, however, showed their quality in the second half. Mbappe scored their first in the 48th minute before assisting Barcola before the hour as Les Bleus halved the deficit. The France captain then netted again to become the leading scorer in World Cup history, at least until Lionel Messi takes to the field for Sunday's final, and both of his goals were assisted by Olise, with his seven assists the most of any player at a single edition of the tournament on record (since 1966). Just as France looked to be building towards a leveller, Gusto fouled Spence in the box at the other end, and Saka sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot. There was still time for more drama, with Dembele scoring in the 96th minute before Bellingham ensured victory in the 98th with a stunning solo goal. In the end, it was not the way Deschamps wanted to end his time as France boss, but he will be comforted by a spirited performance from his men. That's all from us. We hope you enjoyed our coverage, and we'll see you for Sunday's final! Goodbye!
FULL-TIME: FRANCE 4-6 ENGLAND
GOALLLLLL!!!!! ENGLAND 6-4!!!! BELLINGHAM GETS IN ON THE ACT! The Real Madrid star shows incredible composure to dribble past three France defenders in the box before making it 6-4 with a simple finish! His seven goals at the World Cup are the most by an England player across a single edition of the competition. Game over!
Upamecano has certainly done himself proud in this second half. His interception and pass to Dembele has given France some hope!
GOOALLLLLLL!!!! DEMBELE SCORES FOR FRANCE!!! IT'S NOT OVER YET! Upamecano intercepts a pass from Rice, and as he did for France's first goal, pushes forward before passing to Dembele. The PSG man gets the better of Chalobah and fires in with his left foot. France 4-5 England!
Olise tries a shimmy to get past Spence, but the England defender makes a strong tackle. Spence stays down after clearing the ball, but he is able to continue.
Chalobah, who was a late addition to the squad, comes on for just his second England appearance. Guehi makes way for the final three minutes.
Kounde replaces Gusto at right-back for France.
There will be a minimum of additional seven minutes at the end of this second half.
Saka is the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout stage match, after Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final.
GOALLLLL!!!!! ENGLAND 5-3!!!! SAKA GETS HIS HAT-TRICK! He makes no mistakes from 12 yards out, finding the bottom-right corner as Maignan dives the wrong way! That should be that for this third-place play-off.
PENALTY TO ENGLAND! Gusto brings Spence down in the box and the referee points straight to the spot! Can England wrap up victory from the spot?
Quansah is strugging with cramp is replaced by James, who is now tasked with stopping Barcola.
CHANCES AT BOTH ENDS! Bellingham's determination helps him get into the box, but he is reluctant to shoot on his left foot and allows the defenders to block his eventual shot on his right! France surge down the other end and see Olise and Dembele play a one-two in the box, and the former somehow misses the target from close range! This is incredible viewing!
England's star player this tournament in Bellingham comes on in place of Eze.
Tuchel makes the changes England desperately needed, with Anderson coming on for Toney. This move should see Watkins now move into the middle.
Mbappe wriggles his way towards goal and gets a shot off, but it is blocked promptly. England look nervous every time one of France's attackers dribble into the box.
Rogers, who is reportedly on his way to Chelsea for close to £120m, is crowded out in his own half and loses the ball. England's midfielders must do a better job of retaining possession against this very confident France side.
WIDE! Gusto fires a low cross into the middle for Olise, whose first-time effort goes just wide of the top-left corner! It is all France at the minute!
England are struggling to keep the ball as they did so well in the first half. Substitutions would certainly help, with the likes of Kane, Bellingham and Gordon on the bench.
We are back underway after the hydration break, with France very much in the ascendancy. Surprisingly, Tuchel makes no changes, despite Rice looking very tired in midfield.
Mbappe has become the outright top scorer at the World Cup with 22 goals as France edge towards a historic turnaround. No nation has ever previously avoided defeat when trailing by 4+ goals at half time at the World Cup.
The referee blows his whistle for the hydration break, which Tuchel would have been desperate for before France's third goal.
Olise records his seventh assist of this World Cup tournament, playing a clever pass to Mbappe to reduce the deficit to just one goal.
GOALLLLL!!! FRANCE ARE NOW ONE GOAL BEHIND!! MBAPPE IS THE ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER IN WORLD CUP HISTORY! It is a stunning goal from France, highlighted by Olise's flick towards Mbappe, who takes it in before firing past Henderson with his left foot! Deschamps' half-time team talk has worked wonders so far. France 3-4 England.
