The game started with absolute dominance from England, as they raced to a stunning 4-0 lead by halftime. Declan Rice opened the scoring in just the 3rd minute with a long-range effort, followed shortly by a header from Ezri Konsa. Bukayo Saka then took over the spotlight, scoring twice before the break to leave the French squad completely stunned.
However, France came out fighting in the second half. Kylian Mbappé struck just minutes after the restart, and Bradley Barcola quickly added another to make it 4-2. When Mbappé scored his second goal of the night in the 66th minute, an incredible comeback seemed entirely possible. The tension was sky-high, but England managed to hold their ground. In the final minutes, Saka completed a brilliant hat-trick by smashing in a penalty to finally seal the victory. Jude Bellingham and France’s Ousmane Dembélé both added late stoppage-time goals to cap off a wild 6-4 finish.
England’s squad celebrated a hard-fought bronze medal, ending their historic World Cup journey on a high note despite their semifinal heartbreak.