England 6-4 France Highlights, 3rd-Place Playoff; FIFA World Cup 2026: Best ever finish in 60-years for English football team

90 +7 Minutes | Full-Time

England 6-4 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Earlier in the evening, the starting lineups of the both the teams showed that they had rested their main men. a England lead 4-0 at the end of the first half.

Rice started the scoring for the English in the third minute. It was followed by Konsa in the 18th and then Bukayo Saka with goals in the 37th and 46th minute made it 4-0 for the English. Mbappe scored in the 47th minute open the scoring for the French team.

Barcola made it 2-4 for the French with a 54th minute goal. With a 67 minute strike by Mbappe, the score line read 3-4 France. And a penalty for England was converted by Saka, who scored a hat-trick. Ousmane Dembele for France and Jude Bellingham for England scored in a gap of 2 minutes and as a result, England won.

This was also third-time lucky for England as they won their first-ever third-place match, having gone down to Italy in 1990 and Belgium in 2018..

90 +7 Minutes | Full-Time

England 6-4 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

That’s how it looks at full-time. England have finished their best ever since 1966 when they won the tournament for the first and only time. They had never finished even third after that. Now, they do.

90 +7 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 6-4 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

My god, I am about type how a wasted effort from Rice near the half line to give the ball away to France, and Dembele converting that into a goal, is pure English frustration. Suddenly, just after that play, we have, probably the goal of the tournament by Jude Bellingham, who runs from the English part of the pitch to the French and scores, beating two defenders and the French goalie, all alone, to make it 6-4 in favor of the English.

90 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 5-3 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

So seven minutes have been added and England will look to make sure that they don’t make a lot of mess like they did against Argentine. And if that happens, they will have their best-ever finish in World Cup history in the last 60 sixty years.

86 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 5-3 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Spence gets a touch inside the French D and gets a penalty. Kane is not here, so it is Jude Bellingham who will take the penalty shot here and England would be happy to get this in and get the much needed two-goal cushion.

No, wait, it is Saka, who has decided to take and get a hat-trick for himself. This guy had missed a penalty in Euro final in 2020.

But not now, he makes the French goalie go left and hit it right and he has a World Cup hat-trick to his name.

82 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-3 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Just as he came on, Jude Bellingham had a great chance to make it 5-3 for the English side. He missed, so did Rogers and then France counter attacked and they missed thanks to Olise hitting the cross bar. It’s 4-3 to England still with 8 minutes of regulation time left.

79 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-3 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

With 11 minutes of regulation time remining plus at least 9 minutes if injury time, England deploy captain Jude to the rescue and he has with him Anderson. The duo have replaced Toney and Eza.

76 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-3 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Olise has missed so much that even one of the shots would have made it level for the French side, who are looking more dangerous now, than they have eve looked. This is a game of two halves. England are looking like England now and France are looking France now as well. Hard to defend this slime 1-0 lead for the English If they do, they can call themselves very lucky.

67 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-3 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Oh my god, if the first half was all about England, the second one is all about the French. Mbappe has now scored 10 goals in the tournament and clearly put a lot of pressure on England here and Messi in the finale to score two goals, if he wants the boot and the record for the next four years at least, of most goals scored in FIFA World cup history.

Mbappe now has 22 to his name in just three editions of the World Cup that he has played.

64 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-2 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

This is one of the most attacking matches of this World Cup, if not the most attacking game ever in this World Cup. Total football is being played all around. One time the ball is with Olise, the other time with Ezra, and then suddenly Mbappe ha a chance to make a shot and somewhere Toney misses a touch near the far post , You can’t seem to catch a breath here, can you?

54 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-2 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

This is the kind of football that people pay to watch and watch is what they are doing as they have now watched Barcola score the second goal for the French and sixth of the match so far with nearly 35 minutes remaining.

48 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-1 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Goal!! Right at the start for the second half, Kylian Mbappe does, what he is supposed to, score and put pressure on England and on Messi, as he now leads the Golden Boot race with 9 goals to his kitty.

46 Minutes | 2nd Half

England 4-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Not 0ne or two, Deschamps makes four out of the five possible five substitutions. Dembele, Digne, Barcola and Dayot Upamecano have come in for the French side.

This is something that tells you the full story.

When it comes to stats, England have had 55 per cent possession, 10 shots on goal, seven on target, 273 completed passes and 95 per cent pass accuracy.

As for France, they are where they should be with only 45 per cent possession, 5 shots taken with only two on target and just 214 passes completed.

45 Minutes | Half-Time

England 4-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

The one tweet to tell you everything.

45 Minutes | Half-Time

England 4-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

And finally the first half, that nobody in the wildest of their dreams would have imagined, has come to an end with England leading 4-0 and being just 50 minutes away from their best ever finish in World Cup history of the last 60 years.

44 Minutes | 1st Half

England 4-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

My god. I haven’t seen something like this in a World Cup match for the third position Deschamps bever wanted to play this game and it seems his players don’t want at all, Saka with a smooth finish, now has a brace and a corner to finish the first half.

43 Minutes | 1st Half

England 3-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Toney had another chance, but he once again played the ball in the direction of Saka while the guy was already on the move and as a result, he missed the ball.

Still, what England need to be aware of is, they do not let the French make a comeback, at least inside the first half.

41 Minutes | 1st Half

England 3-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Never before had France conceded three goals in the first half a World Cup game. What is happening here is Iver Toney had a ball and it would have been 4-0 as well. But Toney missed the connection.

37 Minutes | 1st Half

England 3-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Oh what a game England are having tonight. The counterattack after Mbappe’ shot at the England goal was stopped, has paved way for goal number three. It should have been Rashford with the goal, but he gave Saka the chance and he obliged with a clean strike.

33 Minutes | 1st Half

England 2-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Marcus Rashford had a ball and he decided that he will take a shot and brings out a great save from the French Goalie.

30 Minutes | 1st Half

England 2-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Mbappe, comes close, but the ball is defended well by Guehi and the English 2-0 lead is intact.

23 Minutes | 1st Half

England 2-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

And this time around, the referee blows the whistle for players to regroup, especially the French ones and take stock of what is happening while sipping some water to rehydrate.

18 Minutes | 1st Half

England 2-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

This is just a phenomenal start for the English side as they have now scored again. It is Konsa this time and they are 2-0 ahead inside the first 20 minutes.

03 Minutes | 1st Half

England 1-0 France | Live Score ENG vs FRA 3rd Place Playoff, FIFA World Cup 2026

Oh what a start this has been for the English side. Their stand in captain Decan Rice scores inside the first five minutes.

The two teams are ready in the tunnel and they are now coming out for the final time in 2026 World Cup for their national anthems.

England have played two third-place matches in the history of the World Cups and they have lost both. Can they turn the tide today?

Just like England rested their star players Kane and Bellingham, France have also decided not to worry Dembele for the start of this game.

Here’s the French Starting 11 for the 3rd-place playoff match.

Seems like Didier Deschamps was right and both the teams do not really want to play this match as they have fielded second playing 11s it seems.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are not playing for the English side. Wait till you see the French playing 11.