France v England – World Cup bronze final result as Bukayo Saka hat-trick helps England to thrilling 6-4 win

In a game that was criticised as a match that nobody wanted to play, England and France combined to produce a 10-goal World Cup classic in the bronze final in Miami.

Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick, and Jude Bellingham set a new England World Cup scoring record as The Three Lions defeated Les Bleus 6-4.

England roared into a 4-0 first-half lead, only to be pegged back to 4-3 by a thrilling second-half fightback from France to set up a back-and-forth battle in the match's closing minutes, with both sides trading goals before Jude Bellingham put the seal on a quite spectacular 6-4 win.

The first half undeniably belonged to England, who started fast, with captain Declan Rice surging forward and planting a long-range effort into the far corner to put England into a third-minute lead. Then Rice helped contribute to England's second, with his corner headed into the far corner by a leaping Ezri Konsa on 18 minutes.

It looked like England could score with almost every attack, and a breakaway fronted by Marcus Rashford led to Saka adding a third on 37 minutes, and the Arsenal winger added a second in first-half stoppage time as he took possession on the edge of the area and finished superbly to send England into the dressing room 4-0 up.

If the first half belonged to England, the second was dominated by France, as Didier Deschamps made a raft of changes, and saw immediate improvements as his side came surging back into the game.

Kylian Mbappe scored either side of a Bradley Barcola effort as France threatened to completely wipe out England's first-half lead. But despite their superior pace and creativity in the final third, they could not take full advantage of their chances, with Michael Olise guilty of two crucial misses as the French forced England onto the back foot.

England needed a change of impetus, and Thomas Tuchel turned to his bench, with the introduction of Bellingham and Elliot Anderson helping bring them back into the game. It set up a breathless final 10 minutes, with the action swinging from one end of the pitch to the other.

A lung-busting run from Djed Spence led to him being brought down in the box as England earned an 87th-minute penalty, and Saka stepped up to calmly complete his hat-trick, but there was still more drama to come.

With the match in stoppage time, Ousmane Dembele added a superb fourth for France to give Les Bleus late hope. But with France pushing for a dramatic equaliser, England broke away again, and Bellingham skipped past two defenders to slam home England's sixth and secure the victory with the last kick of the game. Bellingham's strike was his seventh of the tournament, and saw him move beyond Harry Kane and Gary Lineker for the most goals scored by an English player in a World Cup.

It meant that, after one of the most entertaining matches in World Cup history, England ran out the victors by six goals to four, and claimed third place in the tournament – the second-best World Cup finish achieved by The Three Lions.

SAKA: I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE PLAYED MORE
England's hat-trick hero admitted that he would have loved to have played a bigger part in England's World Cup campaign, but said that it is time to move on from the conversation now the tournament is over.

"Crazy, crazy game obviously. We're both still quite disappointed not to be in the final. But for us, it's about giving the country the best World Cup result in 60 years. We're happy with the final result," he told BBC Sport.

"The first half won it for us. We won the first half, they won the second half. We got the two goals to win the game. That's how it went."

Did Bellingham give him that penalty?

"No. Jude was never taking it. He was the first one to say go and get your hat-trick. He was holding the ball as a couple of them [France players] were trying to distract me."

Could he have played more?

"Of course, I would love to have played more. But of course, it's not the time to talk about it. I try to do my talking on the pitch. It's done now. Move on."

Good news for Arsenal?

"Yeah. I'm fit. I'm fit.

"We built and built across the tournament, had some amazing results. We fell short against Argentina and it hurts a lot for all of us. I'm sure it's the same for the fans back home. But we move on and focus on the next one.

"It's part of the game. When you lose, there's always going to be noise. When you win, there's always going to be noise. It's how you react to it and use it as fuel. Today we had to finish strong."

What a game this is!

France throw bodies forward looking for a last-gasp equaliser, and Reece James does superbly to break up the attack.

He clears, and a brilliant pass from Saka sets Bellingham through.

He cuts inside a French defender, then another, then smashes the ball into the net to win it for England.

It's a brilliant counter-attacking goal to end a quite brilliant football match.

The final whistle goes, and the final score is France 4-6 England.

Wow.

We've got a grandstand finish in Miami!

France take advantage of the space left by Spence's temporary departure by getting the ball out to Dembele, who skips inside Chalobah and plants a left-footed effort past Henderson and into the far corner.

It's France 4-5 England, and we have 30 seconds of stoppage time remaining.

Djed Spence has been absolutely immense for England tonight, and it's no surprise his legs have finally given out on him.

He's gone down with cramp and is heading off to receive treatment.

He started the tournament as a fringe player, but he's finishing it as something of a cult hero.

There will be a minimum of SEVEN additional minutes at the end of this crazy game.

Bellingham passes the ball to Bukayo Saka, who completes his hat-trick with a superb finish from the spot.

England have a two-goal lead with only three minutes of normal time remaining.

A superb crossfield pass from Bellingham finds Rogers, who draws the French defence, then feeds the overlapping Spence, who is brought down inside the penalty area by Gusto.

England have a spot-kick with five minutes to go, and Jude Bellingham has the ball...

England break through Watkins, who finds a charging Bellingham. He skips past two French defenders and has his shot blocked.

The rebound finds Morgan Rogers, whose effort is also blocked.

France immediately break, and after a brilliant piece of interplay in the penalty area, Michael Olise hits his effort wide when it looked easier to score.

Now the referee is down with cramp. It's been that sort of game...

England are struggling to control the midfield, and Thomas Tuchel is about to play his ace card.

Jude Bellingham is stripped and ready to come on.

Every time France attack, they look like scoring.

This time it's Michael Olise who is wondering how he hasn't hit the target as his effort is screwed wide of Henderson's goal.

The difference in momentum in this game is remarkable. England looked like scoring with every attack in the first half. Now it's France's turn to dominate.

We've got 20 minutes, plus stoppages, still to play in this game and the momentum has swung emphatically in France's favour. Incredibly, after going 4-0 up in the first half, England have struggled to control the game in the second half, and some outstanding forward play from France has seen them battle their way back into it.

England still lead, but that four-goal cushion has all but evaporated.

All eyes are on the England bench now. What will Thomas Tuchel do next?

The French are right back in this match, and Kylian Mbappe breaks the all-time World Cup scoring record by rounding off a quite brilliant move with a smart left-footed finish.

It's a world-class goal, and it's game on in Miami.

It's another chance for France, and it's a missed opportunity for Ousmane Dembele, who scuffs his effort straight at Dean Henderson.

That came moments after England had the French defence wobbling, with Watkins, Eze and Toney causing problems in the French box.

The next goal in this match – and there surely will be one – is going to be huge.