Bronze Bedlam! Saka Hattrick Helps England Edge France 6-4 In Tense Ten-Goal Thriller
Bronze Bedlam! Saka Hattrick Helps England Edge France 6-4 In Tense Ten-Goal Thriller Published By, Last Updated: July 19, 2026, 04:49 IST Bukayo Saka's hat-trick
Bronze Bedlam! Saka Hattrick Helps England Edge France 6-4 In Tense Ten-Goal Thriller Published By, Last Updated: July 19, 2026, 04:49 IST Bukayo Saka's hat-trick and Jude Bellingham's last-gasp strike capped a breathtaking 6-4 win over France as England survived another second-half scare to claim World Cup bronze. Bukayo Saka became the fourth Englishman to score a World Cup hattrick (AP) England apparently didn’t get the memo about making life easy. After blowing a lead against Argentina in the semi-finals, Thomas Tuchel’s side looked determined to repeat the trick before finally surviving a ridiculous French comeback to beat Les Bleus 6-4 and claim third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. For one half, England were untouchable. Declan Rice stunned France inside three minutes before Ezri Konsa nodded home a second. Bukayo Saka then took centre stage, adding two first-half goals as Didier Deschamps’ farewell descended into outright humiliation.
France trailed 4-0 at halftime—the first time they had ever conceded four goals in the opening half of a World Cup match. Game over? Not even close. Deschamps emptied his bench with four halftime substitutions, and suddenly England remembered how to panic. Kylian Mbappe finally found daylight three minutes after the restart before Bradley Barcola slotted home another. Then came history. Mbappe struck again midway through the second half to make it 4-3, becoming the outright highest goalscorer in World Cup history while temporarily snatching the Golden Boot lead away from Lionel Messi. England were wobbling. Again. Michael Olise nearly levelled as France sensed one of the greatest comebacks the tournament has ever seen. Tuchel responded by finally throwing on Jude Bellingham and Elliot Anderson, desperately trying to inject some control into a side that suddenly looked terrified.
Relief arrived five minutes from time. Malo Gusto’s clumsy challenge on Djed Spence handed England a penalty, and Saka buried it emphatically to complete his first World Cup hat-trick and restore a two-goal cushion. Of course, even that wasn’t enough to end the madness. Ousmane Dembele rifled home deep into stoppage time to drag France back within one yet again, only for Bellingham to race through with virtually the final kick of the match and coolly finish to finally slam the door shut. Final score? A completely absurd 6-4. England leave the tournament with bronze after one of the most entertaining matches of the competition, while France’s rollercoaster campaign ends with heartbreak in Didier Deschamps’ final game. The Three Lions still made hard work of it—but this time, unlike against Argentina, they actually crossed the finish line.
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