By Senior Soccer Betting Analyst

England 6-4 France — A 10-Goal Bronze-Medal Thriller, Saka's Hat-Trick and a Record for Mbappé

Updated July 2026
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Third-place play-offs are supposed to be the game nobody wants to play — two beaten semi-finalists going through the motions before flying home. Nobody told England and France. On Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the two knocked-out sides served up a 10-goal shootout, England winning 6-4 after leading 4-0 at half-time. It was the most goals in a single World Cup match since 1982, it produced a hat-trick and an all-time scoring record, and — for the practitioner — it reset one of the tournament’s last open betting markets before Sunday’s final. Here is the recap, the numbers that matter, and what the result actually changed on the board.

England and France players competing in a high-scoring World Cup third-place play-off under bright Miami sunshine
Ten goals in Miami: England beat France 6-4 in the highest-scoring World Cup match since 1982.
Result England 6-4 France (HT 4-0) — 3rd-place play-off
When & where Sat July 18, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Hat-trick Bukayo Saka (37′, 45+1′, 87′ pen)
Record Mbappé’s brace = 22 career WC goals, all-time record
England took the bronze medal — their best men’s World Cup finish since winning the whole thing in 1966 — with a wild 6-4 win over France. Saka’s hat-trick did the damage, but the headline for bettors is Kylian Mbappé: his two goals moved him to 22 career World Cup goals, passing Lionel Messi’s 21 to become the all-time top scorer, and pushed the Golden Boot race to 10-8 in his favour. That single result collapsed Mbappé’s Golden Boot price to 1.04 and left Messi (13.0) needing a big final to reclaim either record.

TL;DR — What you need to know in 30 seconds

  • England 6-4 France, third-place play-off, Saturday July 18, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami. Half-time: 4-0 England.
  • Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick (37′, 45+1′, 87′ penalty) — only the second England player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match, after Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final.
  • Kylian Mbappé scored twice (48′, 66′) to reach 22 career World Cup goals, passing Messi (21) as the all-time World Cup top scorer — and the first player to score 8+ in back-to-back World Cups.
  • England finish 3rd — their best men’s World Cup result since 1966; France finish 4th.
  • Golden Boot re-priced: Mbappé now leads 10-8 and is 1.04 to win it; Messi (13.0) needs two-plus goals in the final to catch him.
  • It was Didier Deschamps’ final match as France head coach after 14 years; Zidane is the expected successor.
  • Canadian angle: a pure neutral-viewing watch for CanMNT followers on TSN/Sportsnet — and a live market mover heading into Sunday’s Spain-Argentina final.

Result, scorers and records verified against the England FA official match centre, beIN Sports, Al Jazeera, Yahoo and ESPN (July 18, 2026). Odds collected July 18, 2026 (PM ET).

How the game unfolded — 4-0, then chaos

England did their damage early. Declan Rice opened inside three minutes, Ezri Konsa made it 2-0 on 18, and Saka struck twice before the break (37′ and first-half stoppage time) for a barely believable 4-0 half-time lead. France, a beaten semi-finalist with nothing left in the tank, were out of it.

Then the second half turned into a different match. Mbappé pulled one back on 48, Barcola made it 4-2 on 54, and when Mbappé struck again on 66 it was suddenly 4-3 and a real contest. England steadied through Saka’s 87th-minute penalty to complete his hat-trick, Dembélé pulled France within one at 5-4 in stoppage time (90+6′), and Jude Bellingham had the final word on 90+8′ for 6-4. No red cards, one penalty, and ten goals — a play-off nobody expected to matter turned into the highest-scoring World Cup game in 44 years.

The records that came out of it

Two milestones stand out. First, Saka’s hat-trick: he becomes only the second England player to score three in a World Cup knockout game, and the first since Geoff Hurst did it in the 1966 final — the kind of company that tells you how rare it is.

The bigger record belongs to Kylian Mbappé. His two goals took him to 22 career World Cup goals, moving him past Lionel Messi (21) as the outright all-time World Cup top scorer — and he is the first player ever to score eight or more goals at two consecutive World Cups. Messi has one game left to respond in Sunday’s final: one goal ties the record at 22, two reclaims it outright. It is the rarest kind of live sub-plot — a record that can change hands twice inside a week.

What it changed on the board — the Golden Boot

For bettors, the bronze game had one real consequence, and it was not the 1X2 result. It was the Golden Boot. Mbappé’s brace pushed him to 10 tournament goals against Messi’s 8, and with England and France now finished, everyone else is frozen: Bellingham on 7, Haaland on 7, Kane on 6, Dembélé on 6. Only Messi can still catch him.

Mbappé 1.04 decimal for the Golden Boot — what it implies 1.04 decimal ≈ 96% implied probability — a C$100 stake returns just C$104 (a C$4 profit). That is the market telling you the race is all but over: Mbappé leads 10-8 and is done playing. Messi (13.0, ≈ 7.7% implied) needs three goals in the final to lead outright, or two to draw level at 10 and win on the assists tiebreaker being decided in his favour. At those prices there is no value on the favourite and only a lottery ticket on the challenger — the practitioner’s read is to treat the Boot as settled and look at the final’s anytime-scorer market instead.

Deschamps signs off — and what’s next for France

The play-off doubled as a farewell: it was Didier Deschamps’ final match as France head coach, closing a 14-year run that included the 2018 World Cup title. A 6-4 defeat in the bronze game is a strange full stop for one of the most successful tenures in French football, and Zinedine Zidane is the widely expected successor. Deschamps had said before the tournament that this would be his last campaign, and he was typically composed about it afterwards.

"In my head, I know that it is my last match. I don’t want anybody to cry. The end is near, but life goes on." — Didier Deschamps

England boss Thomas Tuchel, meanwhile, admitted he had lost track of the scoring entirely:

"I was not even aware he had a hat-trick. I lost the overview of the goalscorers." — Thomas Tuchel

And Saka, hat-trick ball under his arm, kept his focus on his own tournament minutes:

"Of course, I would love to have played more." — Bukayo Saka

Your next steps before the final

  • [ ] Treat the Golden Boot as effectively settled (Mbappé 1.04) — don’t chase 1.04, and only take Messi 13.0 as a record-chase novelty, not value
  • [ ] Move your attention to the final’s anytime-scorer market, where Messi (2.50) is priced to feature
  • [ ] Note the record sub-plot: Messi needs 2 goals to reclaim the all-time record — a genuine narrative, not a betting edge
  • [ ] Check the outright/awards markets, which the bronze result did NOT move (Golden Ball still Messi ~1.11)
  • [ ] Shop the line — Canadian and U.S. books price the final’s scorer and awards markets differently

Where to read next

Canadian-facing books such as Boomerang Bet, Blitz.bet and LamaBet carry the final’s 1X2, goals, scorer and awards markets in decimal and C$. Stake only what you set aside, and shop the line first.

What was the World Cup 2026 third-place result?
England beat France 6-4 in the third-place play-off on Saturday, July 18, 2026 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. England led 4-0 at half-time. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick and Kylian Mbappé scored twice for France, becoming the all-time World Cup top scorer.
Why is Mbappé now the all-time World Cup top scorer?
Mbappé’s two goals in the third-place game took him to 22 career World Cup goals, passing Lionel Messi’s 21. He is also the first player to score eight or more goals at two consecutive World Cups.
Did the third-place result change the Golden Boot odds?
Yes. Mbappé’s brace moved him to 10 tournament goals against Messi’s 8, and with all other contenders eliminated his Golden Boot price collapsed to 1.04. Messi (13.0) needs two-plus goals in the final to catch him.
Where did England finish at World Cup 2026?
England finished third — their best men’s World Cup result since winning the tournament in 1966. France finished fourth.

Odds are decimal and were accurate as of July 18, 2026 (PM ET); ranges shown where Canadian and U.S. sportsbooks differ. Lines move; confirm at your sportsbook before betting. 19+ (18+ in AB/QC/MB). Bet responsibly — ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600.