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In the World Cup third-place match, England defeated France 6-4 to secure the bronze medal — only the second such achievement for the English national team at a World Cup. The game, played in Miami, went down in history as one of the highest-scoring bronze-medal matches ever seen at a World Cup.
The first half turned into a full-blown rout: France took the field without the necessary focus, and England made the most of it. New captain Declan Rice opened the scoring in just the 3rd minute, before Bukayo Saka added a brace of his own — sending England into the break with a commanding 4-0 lead.
The second half told a completely different story. Inspired by Kylian Mbappé, France launched a dramatic comeback: Mbappé himself pulled one back in the 48th minute, Barcola made it 4-2, and by the 66th minute Mbappé had completed a double to level the score at the narrowest of margins. It was Mbappé's tenth goal of the tournament and the 22nd World Cup goal of his career, moving him ahead of Lionel Messi on the all-time list.
The drama peaked in stoppage time. In the 87th minute, Bukayo Saka converted a penalty to complete his hat-trick, restoring England's two-goal cushion. Ousmane Dembélé immediately pulled one back for France, before Jude Bellingham put the finishing touch on this wild encounter — the tenth goal of the night.
The final result marks a historic achievement for England, despite their collapse late in the second half. Manager Thomas Tuchel had faced fierce criticism from fans and the press in recent days over his tactical decisions in the semi-final against Argentina, where — leading 1-0 — the German coach made a wave of defensive substitutions that ultimately allowed Lionel Messi to turn the game in Argentina's favour. Ahead of the bronze-medal match, the stands jeered Tuchel, with the tabloid press mockingly dubbing him "Thomas Boo-chel".
Tuchel himself admitted that motivating his players for the third-place match had proven difficult — which is why neither Harry Kane nor Jude Bellingham started, despite both forwards, each with six goals, being in contention for the tournament's top scorer award. French coach Didier Deschamps made similar rotations, leaving Ousmane Dembélé and Aurélien Tchouaméni on the bench.
According to Tuchel, neither the English nor the French players were particularly eager to take the field for this match — such indifference from favoured teams towards bronze-medal games is not uncommon at World Cups. Nevertheless, the sheer number of goals made this one of the most entertaining matches in the history of the tournament at this stage.
In two years, England will host the European Championship on home soil — now as reigning World Cup bronze medallists.
Source: seznamzpravy.cz
