Saka Hat Trick Seals 6-4 England Win Over France
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- England routed France 6-4 in Saturday's chaotic World Cup third-place playoff in Miami Gardens, with a 4-0 halftime lead blowing open before France mounted a second-half rally that cut it to one goal.
- Bukayo Saka scored twice in the first half and converted an 87th-minute penalty to complete his hat trick, becoming only the fourth men's player to net a World Cup hat trick for England.
- Kylian Mbappé scored twice and assisted another after halftime, moving him to 22 career World Cup goals and back ahead of Lionel Messi as the men's all-time tournament leading scorer.
- Jude Bellingham capped the win with a late close-range finish, becoming the first Englishman to score seven goals in a single World Cup campaign.
- Michael Olise finished the tournament with seven assists — a new World Cup single-tournament record — though he missed a glaring 12-yard chance to pull France level late.
- The match was Didier Deschamps' final game after 14 years as France manager, with the 10-goal total the most in a World Cup match since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.
Why it matters: England's victory seals their best World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966, while Mbappé's brace reclaims the men's all-time World Cup goalscoring record from Messi heading into the next cycle. For France, the loss closes Deschamps' 14-year tenure on a chaotic note after back-to-back finals appearances.
