Tuesday, August 25, 2026

England beat France 6-4 to win 2026 World Cup bronze

Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute.

• July 19, 2026
England
England

England secured the 2026 FIFA World Cup bronze medal after beating France 6-4 in a remarkable third-place playoff.

The thrilling contest at Miami Stadium produced ten goals, dramatic momentum swings and one of the tournament’s most entertaining matches.

England made a sensational start when Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute.

Ezri Konsa doubled England’s advantage in the 18th minute with a powerful header from a corner.

Bukayo Saka then struck in the 37th minute, giving England a commanding 3-0 lead.

Saka completed his first-half brace in first-half stoppage time, scoring in the 45th minute to make it 4-0.

France responded immediately after the interval, with Kylian Mbappé pulling one goal back in the 48th minute.

Bradley Barcola then reduced the deficit further in the 54th minute, leaving France within two goals.

Mbappé struck again in the 66th minute, making the score 4-3.

England restored their two-goal advantage when Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute.

France refused to surrender, with Ousmane Dembélé scoring in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Jude Bellingham then sealed England’s victory with a goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

The final whistle confirmed England’s extraordinary 6-4 victory and secured their best World Cup finish since winning the competition in 1966.

The result was particularly significant after England had lost 2-1 to Argentina in the semi-finals.

France had also suffered semi-final disappointment, losing 2-0 to Spain before facing England in the bronze final.

England’s explosive attacking display was led by Saka, whose hat-trick proved decisive in the extraordinary encounter.

Rice also made a major contribution, scoring early before assisting Konsa’s 18th-minute goal.

France’s response was spearheaded by Mbappé, who scored twice and helped inspire a remarkable second-half fightback.

However, England survived the pressure and produced two late goals to finally settle the contest.

The victory gave England a podium finish and offered a memorable conclusion to their campaign in North America.

For France, the defeat ended a disappointing tournament on a dramatic night that also marked the end of Didier Deschamps’ tenure.

The 6-4 scoreline ensured the bronze final would be remembered as one of the highest-scoring matches in World Cup history.

England ultimately prevailed in a contest that repeatedly appeared settled before producing another extraordinary twist. 

(NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Donald Trump

Rights

Trump initiates plans to revoke visas of 200,000 asylum seekers

“People in the U.S. and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stated.

NNPC, Shell

Economy

NNPCL, SNEPCo, Esso, Agip  seal deepwater Bonga deal, target $21 billion investment

NNPCL and the OML 118 contractor parties have executed the addendum to the OML 118 Production Sharing Contract and the addendum to the Dispute Settlement Agreement.

AiNET Corp. and its former CEO, Deepak Jain

Economy

AiNET, CEO settle with U.S. SEC over submitting claims for data centre services

The U.S. alleged that the AiNET data centre failed to comply with Tier III standards and that AiNET and Mr Jain falsely certified to the SEC that it was Tier IV.

Bola Tinubu praying

Faith

BPP felicitates Tinubu, Muslim faithful on Eid-ul-Mawlid

Mr Adedokun, in a goodwill message on Tuesday, extended warm greetings to Mr Tinubu, praying that the prophet’s virtues would continue to inspire the president’s leadership.

Burnham with Zelensky

World

UK vows to keep backing Ukraine war efforts amid Russia’s threats

The United Kingdom, on Monday, pledged continued support for Ukraine amid threats from Russia.

Philips Medical Systems, Kunshan GuoLi Electronic Technology Co Ltd

Anti-Corruption

Philips engineer convicted for stealing trade secrets for Chinese competitor Kunshan GuoLi

A federal jury in Chicago convicted a former engineer at Philips Medical Systems of conspiring to steal Philips’ trade secrets and bring them to a Chinese competitor.