France vs. England: How Three Lions' 6-4 third-placed playoff win over Les Bleus summed up their World Cup 2026 campaign

England secured their champion World Cup decorativeness since 1966 connected Saturday, beating France 6-4 successful the third-place playoff astatine Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.

Thomas Tuchel's broadside shocked Les Bleus by racing into a 4-0 pb by fractional time, courtesy of goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa, arsenic good arsenic a brace from Bukayo Saka.

Didier Deschamps's men fought backmost valiantly successful the 2nd period, reducing the shortage to astir 20 minutes aft the restart, but Saka would spell connected to implicit his hat-trick earlier Jude Bellingham sealed the triumph heavy into stoppage time.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look astatine however England's third-place playoff triumph implicit France encapsulated their World Cup 2026 campaign.

England won but were fortunate against France

England emerged victorious against France and signed disconnected with a memorable triumph astatine the extremity of a disappointing tournament.

However, the Three Lions required a steadfast dose of luck to travel retired connected apical against Les Blues, who were wasteful going guardant arsenic Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise missed a fig of large chances to reconstruct parity.

Good luck was a diagnostic of England's summertime close from the opening fixture, during which Harry Kane was allowed to retake his missed punishment owed to Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic coming disconnected his line.

Tuchel's broadside were besides helped by a fig of questionable decisions by the officials successful their 0-0 gully with Ghana connected June 23, keeping Jordan Pickford connected the transportation contempt a collision with Prince Adu, and Konsa appearing to perpetrate a thigh-height foul precocious connected that was worthy of a penalty.

Beyond the radical stage, the Democratic Republic of Congo were inches distant from gaining a two-goal pb lone for Yoane Wissa to deed the extracurricular of the station from adjacent range, thing that could person taken the crippled distant from England.

The Three Lions' quarter-final necktie against Norway besides saw a extremity from Torbjorn Heggem ruled out, not to notation the information that the shot appeared to deed a camera cablegram successful the buildup to Bellingham's opener that day.

All-in-all, it would beryllium just to accidental that luck played a large relation successful England adjacent reaching the semi-final signifier to statesman with, and winning erstwhile again successful Saturday's playoff contempt being little than coagulated fits into that pattern. 

England were connected the brink but Jude Bellingham rescued Three Lions

Both sides gave starts to a fig of fringe players this weekend, with England seating Bellingham and Kane connected the bench.

Tuchel's broadside enjoyed an fantabulous archetypal half, but France were raring to spell successful the 2nd and looked astir definite to gully level, taking power of the lucifer distant from the Three Lions.

However, erstwhile Bellingham was substituted connected for Eberechi Eze with a small implicit 10 minutes remaining connected the clock, the squad regained immoderate semblance of stability.

Les Bleus should person made it 4-4 erstwhile Olise fired wide of the station from adjacent scope aft playing a one-two successful the container with Dembele connected the 81st minute, but England's newfound impetus allowed them to gain a punishment for Saka to implicit his hat-trick.

Dembele yet pulled different backmost to marque it 5-4 successful stoppage time, but Bellingham took matters into his ain hands, carrying the shot guardant from the halfway enactment a slotting location a 98th-minute sealer.

The Real Madrid midfielder's precocious onslaught was his seventh astatine this World Cup, a tally that makes him the subordinate with the astir goals for England successful immoderate iteration of the tournament, overtaking Gary Lineker's 1986 showing and Kane's 2018 and 2026 campaigns.

One of the astir notable aspects of Tuchel's squad this summertime has been their reliance connected their superstar players, a origin champion exemplified by the information that 12 of the Three Lions' 14 goals anterior to Saturday were scored by either Kane oregon Bellingham.

With that successful mind, England needing their fig 10 to prevention them from humiliation against France could beryllium said to beryllium emblematic of their World Cup overall.

Thomas Tuchel's England were defensively anemic yet again

After England's 4-2 opening triumph against Croatia, the wide feeling was that the squad were susceptible going guardant but concerning successful defence, thing that reared its caput passim World Cup 2026.

Tuchel's broadside conceded an aboriginal extremity successful the circular of 32 necktie with DR Congo, a crippled that could person gone down arsenic 1 of the biggest upsets successful the tournament's past if not for precocious heroics by skipper Kane.

Likewise, a singular portion of last-ditch defending was required from Bellingham to support England successful beforehand astatine fractional clip successful the circular of 16 against Mexico, portion the squad were incapable to clasp retired against Lionel Messi's Argentina successful the semi-final.

The Three Lions whitethorn person taken 3rd spot connected Saturday, but the information that they fto successful 4 goals - and should person conceded much - serves arsenic a microcosm of the antiaircraft frailty that the squad showcased this summer.

If England are to person immoderate accidental of ending their more-than-60-year trophy drought astatine Euro 2028, past they volition request to amended their rearguard, particularly considering their dire grounds against the higher-ranked nations.