Michelle Njuguna
19 Jul
19Jul


In a wild 10-goal thriller in Miami yesterday — France 4-6 England — on Saturday July 18 at Miami Stadium.  


It was the highest-scoring World Cup game since 1982 and it gives England third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, their best finish since winning it in 1966.

  How it happened:

England started with a heavily rotated side — no Kane or Bellingham starting — while it was Didier Deschamps' last game after 14 years in charge of France.  

• 3' Declan Rice opened it with a long-range strike, then headed assist for Ezri Konsa to make it 2-0

 • Bukayo Saka scored twice before halftime — England 4-0 up at the break

   • France fought back after Deschamps' quadruple sub at halftime, with Kylian Mbappé and sub Bradley Barcola making it 4-2   

• Saka and Mbappé traded goals, then Ousmane Dembélé made it 5-4 in stoppage time before Jude Bellingham sealed it 6-4 for England   

The result means:

• Mbappé scored twice, taking him to 10 goals for the tournament and outright top scorer ahead of Messi before today's final   

• Both goals count toward the Golden Boot — goals in the third-place play-off do count   

• England take bronze and $29 million in prize money   

They had both lost their semis — France 2-0 to Spain, England 2-1 to defending champions Argentina after leading until the 85th minute.  


Now all eyes are on today's final: Argentina vs Spain at MetLife.

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