Saka’s hat trick lifts England past Mbappé’s France 6-4 in the World Cup third place match.
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Bukayo Saka scored three goals to lead England to a 6-4 win over third-placed France at the World Cup, while Kylian Mbappé surpassed Lionel Messi’s goalscoring record and took the lead in the Golden Boot race with two second-half goals on Saturday.
It was the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982, and 10 goals was the most in a third-place match.
Saka had goals in the 37th minute and stoppage time in the first half, then added a third with a penalty in the 87th minute for his second England hat trick. The Three Lions got back-to-back goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa to build a 4-0 lead at half-time, and held on for a solid second half to secure their second-best World Cup finish. England won their only title in 1966.
England’s Jude Bellingham scored in the eighth minute of the second half, his seventh goal of the tournament.
Mbappé reached 22 career goals, one more than Messi. This star striker finished the World Cup with 10 goals, two more than Messi in the race for the golden boot, which is awarded to the top scorer in this tournament.
Messi will get one last shot at the scoring title when he and defending champion Argentina face Spain on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele also scored for France.
Both teams had said they preferred to play in the final on Sunday. France had enough firepower to win the tournament, but Les Bleus lost to Spain in the semi-finals and squandered their chance to reach a third consecutive World Cup final. England beat Argentina 1-0 and lost 2-1 with Messi assisting on the last two goals.
Still, a sellout crowd of 64,478 showed up to watch the seventh and final game of the World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium.
A large number of supporters were cheering for both teams, but many were there because of the spirit of the low-level game.
“I love English football,” said Gaston Esquivel, a native of Mexico City who came to support England. “I have followed the Premier League since I was young. I am a fan of Manchester United. I love their style, I love their game.”
Thomas Viel, who traveled from Paris to follow France throughout the tournament, was hoping to see Mbappé’s hat trick. He almost got his wish.
France trailed 4-0 when Mbappé fired a shot past goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the 48th minute. He then hit Henderson again with a left-foot strike from 14 yards out for 66.
“I think Messi will not score a hat trick [on Sunday]”, said Viel.
It was also the last game of the French coach, Didier Deschamps, who said he would step down after 14 years. Deschamps hugged the players and waved to the crowd as he left the pitch.
CBC Sports’ Donnovan Bennett writes this story about the chaos that was the 2026 World Cup, and how, despite all its flaws, it brought people together.
