England defeats France in chaotic World Cup third-place play-off, records tumble

The World Cup third-place play-off between England and France delivers absolute chaos as the goals fly in and the records tumble in Miami.

"I'm a little bit emotional, I can't find the words to describe how proud of these lads I am.

"They are playing a game with broken hearts. I see 11 lads out on the field with broken hearts. I've seen them in the hotel for the last two days with broken hearts.

"But for them to build a performance like that just through pride of playing for England, the team spirit we've built, it's been a privilege to watch."

These were the words of England assistant coach Anthony Barry at half-time, when the Three Lions were 4-0 up over a seemingly disinterested France and cruising.

There were tears in Barry's eyes as he reflected upon what he had seen in that first half. Goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Bukayo Saka lifting England from despair to something a level or two above despair.

Half an hour later, as France mounted a comeback and England fell to bits, things weren't looking so rosy. But all's well that ends well, right?

Both sides made substantial changes to their starting XIs for this effective dead rubber, but there was never any chance Kylian Mbappé was going to sit it out.

With the Golden Boot up for grabs, Mbappé started the day level on eight goals with Lionel Messi in the 2026 race, and one behind Messi in the all-time World Cup goal-scoring charts.

With Messi still to play in tomorrow's final, this was Mbappé's chance to stake a claim for some crowns. And, after a sleepy first half, he stepped into top gear.

Two clinical goals in the second half saw him break clear of Messi in the Golden Boot race and, for now, leapfrog him in the history books. Mbappé now has 22 World Cup goals to Messi's 21.

Mbappé himself says he expects Messi to score in the final, so the Golden Boot is still up for grabs, but it is almost certain that the French superstar will be alone on top of the all-time leaderboard by the time his career winds up.

Mbappé may not have enjoyed quite so fruitful a World Cup if it weren't for the dazzling number 11 playing just behind him.

Michael Olise is a brilliant footballer and a joy to watch, and in this game against England added two more assists to his tournament tally.

Those took him up to seven assists for the World Cup, surpassing Pelé's previous mark of six and ticking off another record in this crazy third-place play-off.

The only disappointment for Olise from the tournament was that he failed to find a goal for himself. And that was not for want of trying, as he consistently let fly without finding the back of the net.

Indeed, a couple of missed chances in the second half against England could have made all the difference in what was an ill-fated comeback. Still, there have been few players more enjoyable to watch at this World Cup than the Bayern Munich magician.

Onto the next superstar, the next record breaker. It has to be Jude Bellingham.

This was the tournament in which Bellingham won over the doubters back home in England, the folks who don't venture much further out than the Premier League and as such wondered if this young man was as good as advertised.

They're certainly not questioning that any more.

Bellingham, who only played the last 20 minutes of this game, scored the sealer deep into stoppage time with what was his seventh goal at the tournament. No English man has ever managed that many at a World Cup before.

The goal that broke the record was a thing of beauty too, a spectacular solo effort that saw Bellingham carry the ball half the length of the pitch, before deceiving and evading a pair of French defenders to coolly slot into the bottom corner.

Power, grace and technical brilliance all in one. That's Jude Bellingham for you.

Before kick-off in Miami, there had been 57 hat-tricks scored at a men's World Cup. By full-time, there had been 58.

Bukayo Saka was the latest to add his name to the list, one that is even more impressive when you whittle it down a bit. Saka's hat-trick was only the fourth by an Englishman at a World Cup and the fourth of any player at this year's edition.

The first goal might have been comical, and the third a generously offered penalty, but the second was delightful. Fed into a pocket of space by a brilliant Eberechi Eze pass, Saka controlled and struck an inch-perfect shot back across the French goal and just inside the far post.

Saka was influential throughout, raising a few questions as to why he has featured so little throughout this tournament.