England clinch World Cup bronze with 6 goals against the Roosters

England clinched third place at the 2026 World Cup after a crazy game that ended in a 6–4 win over France at Miami in one of the most exciting and high-scoring matches of the World Cup.

Although third-place matches are usually played with minimal pressure, this summit turned into an open-ended attacking display that exposed many of the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, and brought England back to the podium after years of absence, while  France's journey ended in fourth place in Didier Deschamps' last appearance.

First half quartet

England started the match with remarkable strength, taking advantage of France's lack of defensive focus, as Declan Rice opened the scoring after a successful pressure in the middle of the field, before Ezri Konsa added the second goal from a set kick in which the English took advantage of poor coverage inside the area.

With space behind the French defence widening, Bukayo Saka found his way to the goal twice, finishing the first half with a clean sheet despite the absence of Harry Kane and Jod Bellingham from the starting line-up.

 This French defensive collapse was not surprising after the mistakes that appeared against Spain in the semi-finals, but it was even more evident in the pace of Saka and Rashford and England's ability to exploit the half-spaces.

French coach faces extreme emergency

The encounter turned into an insult for Deschamps, as they conceded a fourth goal in stoppage time through Saka to the astonishment of everyone, starting with the English players themselves. It was clear that the French coach found himself facing a maximum emergency that required quick and radical changes in order to save face in the second stage.

Following his disastrous and dismal performance, the French entered the second half with four new players: Dembele and Barcola in the forward line in the place of Doi and Sharqi, and Deni and Upamecano in defence in place of Hernandez and Konate. The result was immediate with an early goal by Mbappe in the 48th minute after a pass from Olezier.

The French awakening was confirmed in the 54th minute when Barcola received a ball deep from Mbappe to penetrate the English defence and shoot into the goal. The water of the match returned to its normal course, which means that the difference between the two opponents has narrowed to a reasonable proportion that reflects the balance of power between them.

Tuchel benefits from tango lesson

Thomas Tuchel, who paid the price for an early drop to Argentina in the semi-finals, refused to repeat the mistake, and his side gradually regained control and absorbed France's momentum, taking advantage of the large spaces behind their defence.

From one of these attacks, the Englishman was awarded a penalty after Jade Spence was blocked, which Saka successfully executed to secure his first hat-trick at the World Cup and give his team the fifth goal. Although Dembele reduced the deficit to a fourth goal in stoppage time, France's full-fledged onslaught gave England one last chance as Jude Bellingham took advantage of a solo effort to add a sixth and seal one of the most insane matches of the World Cup.

With this win, the English team avenged their loss to France in the 2022 quarter-finals, achieving their best result in years, while the Roosters finished the tournament in fourth place after a career that saw sharp fluctuations between attacking power and defensive collapse.

As for this match, it will remain one of the most exciting matches of the World Cup, after witnessing ten goals, radical tactical shifts, and an open offensive display from both teams until the last second.