New York: England defeated France 6-4 in a breathtaking World Cup third-place playoff, producing one of the highest-scoring and most entertaining matches in the tournament’s history.
With little more than pride at stake, both sides played fearless attacking football from the opening whistle. The result was a remarkable 10-goal thriller that rewrote several World Cup records.
Bukayo Saka stole the spotlight with a superb hat-trick for England, while Kylian Mbappe scored twice to keep France in the contest. The relentless attacking display kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the match.
The game marked the first World Cup fixture in 64 years in which both teams scored at least four goals. The last such match was the 4-4 draw between the Soviet Union and Colombia in 1962.
It also became the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary’s 10-1 victory over El Salvador in 1982, making it the first 10-goal game at the tournament in more than four decades.
England are #FIFAWorldCup Bronze Final winners 🏴
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 18, 2026
The contest set a new benchmark for third-place playoffs as well. England’s 6-4 victory surpassed the previous highest-scoring bronze-medal match, France’s 6-3 win over West Germany at the 1958 World Cup.
France’s Michael Olise also entered the record books after registering his seventh assist of the tournament, breaking Pele’s long-standing record of six assists in a single World Cup edition.
England midfielder Jude Bellingham reached another milestone by scoring his seventh goal of the tournament, setting a new record for the most goals by an England player in a single World Cup.
The unforgettable encounter now joins an elite list of the highest-scoring matches in World Cup history, alongside famous goal-fests such as Austria’s 7-5 win over Switzerland in 1954 and Hungary’s 10-1 triumph over El Salvador in 1982.
While the bronze medal was the official prize, the match will be remembered far more for its attacking brilliance and the history it created.
