Nigerian born Bukayo Saka inspired England to defeat France 6-4 and win their first medal, a bronze, in 60 years since winning the world cup in 1966.
Saka scored a hattrick, two goals in the first half and a third from the spot in the second half with Declan Rice. Ezri Konsa both scoring in the first half, and substitute Jude Bellingham adding the sixth in added time to ensure England did not end the mundial with heartache.
The Three Lions shook off their semifinal heartbreak to give their fans something to celebrate after the criticism that trailed their collapse due to poor tactical defensive play against Argentina in the semi final.
The English attacking display at Miami Stadium birthed four goals in the first half before the break but the French fought back in the second to almost rob England of victory.
England Captain Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were not on the starting line-up, with stand-in captain Declan Rice starting the victory song as early as the third minute with his well taken long-range shot leaving goalkeeper, Maike Maignan rooted on the spot.
The Three Lions doubled their advantage in the 18th minute when Rice provided an assist from a corner for defender Ezri Konsa to head home for his first career World Cup goal.
Bukayo Saka increased the pain of the French when he took advantage of poor defending on the part of France to slot home his first in the 37th minute, before sending England into a commanding 4-0 lead at the stroke of halftime with a ruthless left-footed strike.
France however refused to go down without a fight, with Coach Didier Deschamps making a drastic four-player substitution at halftime, which instantly impacted on the game.The result was instant with Kylian Mbappé scoring in the 48th minute and added another in 66th to elicit loud reaction from the stands .
Mbappé’s brace took his tally to 10 and above Lionel Messi to become the all-time leading goalscorer in the history of men’s World Cup, while hoping that Messi does not equal or even surpass him.
Substitute Bradley Barcola scored a beauty goal after Mbappe’s first and cut England’s 4-0 lead to 4-3 with tension mounting on England of a possible collapse.
As tension peaked in Miami, England dug deep to extinguish the French momentum from the spot after Djed Spence had been tripped in the vital area.
Saka capped off an unforgettable individual tournament performance by converting a late penalty in the 86th minute, completing his hat-trick and settling nerves on the English bench.
France responded with Ousmane Dembele scoring in added time to put England under pressure but Bellingham had to come to the rescue with a fine solo run that gave England the guarantee they needed to pick the bronze and 29m dollar prize money for bronze medalists.The final of the 2026 World Cup between Spain and Argentina will.on Sunday by 8pm Nigeria time
