Saka’s hat trick lifts England past France in WC third-place game
England and France delivered a thriller in a World Cup match that was supposed to be an afterthought.
A day before Lionel Messi and Argentina were set to try and defend their title in a highly anticipated final, Bukayo Saka scored three goals to lead England past Kylian Mbappe and France 6-4 in a wild third-place game.
Mbappe surpassed Messi’s record for World Cup goals, scoring twice in the second half. The 27-year-old star has 22 goals in his career and 10 in this World Cup, two ahead of Messi in the Golden Boot race.
It was the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982, and the 10 goals were the most in a third-place match.
Saka had goals in the 37th minute and in first-half stoppage time, then added his third on a penalty in the 87th for his second career hat trick with England. The Three Lions also got goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa to build a 4-0 halftime lead, and they hung on against a relentless France attack in the second half to secure their second-best finish in the World Cup. England won its only title in 1966.
“I hope that the players can be proud of that in some time,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said. “We are fiercely competitive, so we almost don’t allow ourselves to be proud of third place because 18 months ago we set the highest goal. We set the highest dream to chase, and we were very, very ambitious with our dream to make it to the final and win the World Cup. So it’s very, very painful if you miss out.”
Tuchel said he viewed England’s World Cup run as a success despite its collapse in the semifinals. The Three Lions blew a 1-0 lead against Argentina and lost 2-1 when Messi assisted on two late goals.
Tuchel was criticized for his tactical decisions in the loss, with many wondering what it will take for England to end its decades-long wait for another trophy.
He said Saturday’s result was the first step toward closing the gap with teams like Argentina and France.
“This game will help us for sure,” he said, “even if a part will never allow you to fully celebrate the bronze medal.” Jude Bellingham capped the scoring in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time, his seventh goal of the tournament and the most in a World Cup by an England player. Captain Harry Kane scored six this year and in 2018, and Gary Lineker had six in 1986.
Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele also scored in the second half for France, which pulled within 4-3 on Mbappe’s second goal.
Messi - with 21 career World Cup goals and eight in this tournament - will get one last shot to pass Mbappe for the scoring title when he and defending champion Argentina face Spain on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Mbappe also won the Golden Boot four years ago, when France lost the final to Argentina on penalties. “Leo scores all the time,” Mbappe told Fox Sports in French. “Tomorrow he will score for sure. I just try to help my team every time to score. It’s certain that when you score so many goals in the World Cup, it elevates you to certain levels. I would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history and play in the match tomorrow.”
Both teams had said they’d rather be playing in Sunday’s final. France had enough offensive firepower to potentially win the tournament, but Les Bleus lost to Spain in semifinals and squandered their chance at reaching a third straight WC final.
