Bukayo Saka delivered a performance for the ages, scoring a memorable hat-trick as England defeated France 6-4 in a pulsating FIFA World Cup third-place playoff to claim the tournament’s bronze medal.
The Arsenal forward etched his name into England’s football history by becoming only the fourth player to score a hat-trick for the Three Lions at a FIFA World Cup, joining the elite company of Geoff Hurst, Gary Lineker and Harry Kane.
England wasted no time asserting themselves, taking the lead in the third minute through Declan Rice, whose powerful strike from outside the penalty area beat French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Saka thought he had doubled England’s advantage nine minutes later, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
England, however, maintained their dominance, with Ezri Konsa heading home from a Rice corner in the 18th minute to make it 2-0.
The first half belonged to Saka. The winger finished off a fine move from Marcus Rashford in the 37th minute before producing another clinical finish in first-half stoppage time to hand England a commanding 4-0 lead at the interval.
France returned from the break with renewed determination. Kylian Mbappé ignited the comeback with a goal in the 48th minute before providing an assist for Bradley Barcola to reduce the deficit to 4-2 six minutes later.
The French captain struck again in the 66th minute after combining brilliantly with Michael Olise, bringing France within one goal and setting up a dramatic finale.
England restored their cushion late in the game after Malo Gusto conceded a penalty.
Saka calmly converted from the spot in the 87th minute to complete his historic hat-trick and put England 5-3 ahead.
France refused to surrender, as Ousmane Dembélé scored in stoppage time to make it 5-4 and raise hopes of an unlikely comeback.
Those hopes were short-lived. Deep into added time, Jude Bellingham produced a dazzling solo run before firing England’s sixth goal into the net to seal an entertaining 6-4 victory.
Despite France’s defeat, Mbappé reached another remarkable milestone. His latest strike took his World Cup tally to 22 goals, moving him ahead of Lionel Messi as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
The Real Madrid forward also ended the competition with 10 goals, becoming only the fourth player in history to score 10 or more goals at a single FIFA World Cup.
Michael Olise also entered the record books after registering his seventh assist of the tournament, the highest ever by a player in a single World Cup edition.
Nevertheless, the night belonged to Bukayo Saka, whose sensational hat-trick inspired England to a famous victory in one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament.
