England recorded a stunning 6-4 victory in the historic third-place match between France and England at the 2026 World Cup. This was the highest finish for an England men’s team at a World Cup since 1966 and their biggest win away from home.
England took a 4-0 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Declan Rice, Esri Konsa and Saka (2 goals) under Thomas Tuchel. This left France embarrassed to be four goals down at half-time for the first time since 1930.
However, France staged a strong comeback in the second half of coach Didier Deschamps’ final match. Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barclay scored three goals in the space of a few minutes to give the game a 4–3 lead. With these goals, Mbappe became the highest scorer in World Cup history (22 goals) and the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup since 1970.
Saka completed his hat-trick with a penalty in the final minute of the match. Dembele scored another goal for France, but Jude Bellingham sealed the victory for England in the 98th minute with his sixth goal. Bellingham became the highest scorer in a single World Cup for England with seven goals in the tournament. This match, with 10 goals scored, will go down in history as the highest-scoring match for third place in World Cup history.
Sinhala 
English