England's 6-4 football score seals World Cup third
England sealed third place at the 2026 World Cup with a thrilling 6-4 football score against France in Miami, their first tournament medal in 60 years. Thomas Tuchel called the seven-week campaign "something very special" after Bukayo Saka's hat-trick and Jude Bellingham's late strike closed out bronze.
Key Takeaways
- England beat France 6-4 in Miami to finish third — the Three Lions' best World Cup placing since 1966.
- Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick, including a late penalty, while Jude Bellingham's stoppage-time goal made it 6-4.
- Thomas Tuchel said the squad built "something very special" over seven weeks, even if bronze is never fully celebrated.
- Kylian Mbappé scored twice to reach 10 goals at this World Cup and 22 in World Cups overall.
- England's next major test is a Nations League meeting with Spain at Wembley on 26 September.
For fans who follow how tournament stories age into lasting lore, this bronze-medal night already sits beside other Nostalgia: Then & Now moments — a wild scoreline, a first medal in six decades, and a manager asking for pride without pretending the pain has gone.
What was the football score as England claimed World Cup third?
The football score that will stick in the memory was England 6, France 4. Declan Rice, the stand-in captain, drove England ahead inside three minutes. Ezri Konsa headed in from a Rice corner to make it 2-0, and Bukayo Saka struck twice before the break for an extraordinary 4-0 half-time lead.
France, in Didier Deschamps' final match after 14 years in charge, roared back after the interval. Kylian Mbappé pulled one back three minutes into the second half, then set up Bradley Barcola. Mbappé struck again to make it 4-3 and leave England hanging on.
Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Malo Gusto was adjudged to have brought down Djed Spence. Ousmane Dembélé made it 5-4 in injury time, before substitute Jude Bellingham produced a stunning sixth deep into stoppage time. According to The Guardian, Bellingham's seventh goal of the tournament is the most by an England player at a World Cup.
Chelsea's official match report also underlined the historic hat-trick angle: Saka became only the second Three Lions player after Sir Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final to score three in a World Cup knockout match. Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah both came off the England bench late on, while Gusto started for France.
Why does this bronze medal matter for England?
Context is everything. England had been within five minutes plus stoppages of a first World Cup final on foreign soil before Lionel Messi inspired Argentina's late comeback in Atlanta on Wednesday. Finishing third in Miami does not erase that semi-final hurt — but it does rewrite the finishing line.
Tuchel framed the result as England's first World Cup medal for 60 years and their first at a World Cup on foreign soil. "This game will help us for sure — even if you can never fully celebrate a bronze medal," he said. "It's the first [World Cup] medal for 60 years, first [at a] World Cup on foreign soil, and I hope the players can be proud of that at some point."
Manchester City's club coverage noted that Marc Guéhi kept his starting place and Elliot Anderson came on as England tried to stem France's second-half surge. City also listed James Trafford and Nico O'Reilly in the England squad that claimed third — the country's highest-placed finish since lifting the trophy in 1966.
Saka, unused against Argentina, said the semi-final disappointment still hurt but stressed the need to finish strong. "Obviously we're both quite disappointed to not be in the final but it was about finishing strong and for us giving the country the best position in the World Cup they have finished for 60 years, so we're happy with the final result," he said.
What did Tuchel say after the emotional win?
Tuchel had been booed by some supporters when his name was read out before kick-off. In the buildup he had said England needed to show they could cut the gap to the leading nations. After hanging on against the 2018 world champions, he challenged his players to keep improving.
"We set ourselves the highest dream to chase, and we were very, very ambitious with our dream to make the final in the World Cup," Tuchel said. "So it's very, very painful if you miss out, the pain will stay for a while."
He revealed that Jordan Henderson delivered a pre-match speech that helped put the achievement in perspective. "He put us in the right frame of mind, with everyone in one mindset. It was unbelievable because today was very emotional. We built something very special in the last seven weeks, and we'll never negotiate on that."
Tuchel still stood by his call for better football under pressure. "I still stand by my words, that we need to play better football, manage games better under pressure, take better decisions under pressure. We need to defend more economically."
Assistant Anthony Barry captured the mood at half-time when England led 4-0, telling the BBC they were "playing a game with broken hearts" and that he was proud of the boys against a world-class opponent — while warning the game was not done.
How does this night sit beside France's farewell and what comes next?
Mbappé's double took him to 10 goals at this tournament and 22 in World Cups overall, surpassing Lionel Messi's all-time World Cup goal record for now. Messi's Argentina still have a chance to overhaul him in Sunday's final against Spain.
Deschamps, who became only the third person to win the World Cup as both player and manager, said he was departing with no regrets after reaching the 2018 and 2022 finals. "It is the end of a journey that has represented the most beautiful period of my life," he said, joking he could have changed eight players at half-time after France's first-half display. Zinedine Zidane is poised to take over.
England's path forward is already mapped: a Nations League meeting with Spain at Wembley on 26 September. The football score from Miami will not redefine the whole campaign on its own, but it gives Tuchel's side a concrete bronze-medal night — chaotic, emotional, and historically rare — to measure against the higher dream they missed.
In nostalgia terms, that is the point. Sixty years after 1966, England again left a World Cup with a medal. The then-and-now contrast is sharp: Hurst's final hat-trick sealed a home triumph; Saka's knockout hat-trick helped salvage third on foreign soil after a broken-hearted semi-final. Both nights end with goals, pride, and an argument about what English football has become — and what it still needs to be.