FIFA News: England star bags hat-trick in 10-goal bronze thriller

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England and France have played off in one of the greatest third-place matches of all time, playing out a 10-goal thriller in Miami!

Leading 4-0 at the break, England looked home in the Bronze Final, with France barely turning up in the first exchange.

However, three quick goals piled on courtesy of Kylian Mbappe and Bradley Barcola saw the game well and truly back in the balance.

That was until a loose Malo Gusto challenge brought down Morgan Rogers in the box, handing Bukayo Saka his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

It wasn't over there, with Ousmane Dembele finishing on the counter to make it 5-4 with minutes to play, before superstar Jude Bellingham sealed third place with a superb solo goal to make it 6-4!

Kylian Mbappe's brace takes his tally to 10 on the tournament, and with an assist to go with it, Lionel Messi now sits an even two goals back in the Golden Boot race.

The French striker also moves past Messi in the all-time goalscorer tally, up to 22 goals across his three World Cup campaigns.

Although he wasn't able to find the net, France's Michael Olise racked up two assists, taking his tally to seven over the tournament - breaking Pele's record for the most assists in a single World Cup campaign.

Records broken all over the park in one of the most ridiculous World Cup matches you will ever see!

The match "nobody wants to play"

France and England have kicked off in the Bronze Final at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ - a game that neither team wants to play.

Leading into the third-place match, representatives from both parties have suggested that both France and England have little interest in playing off for a podium position.

Historically, despite the third place match in a World Cup reflecting an exceptional achievement, the Bronze Final has always been one sparking much debate over it's importance - particularly for the biggest nations failing to reach the final.

France versus England is the perfect example of this, with both managers swinging seven changes from their starting XI's against Spain and Argentina respectively.

Speaking leading into the match, England manager Thomas Tuchel explained it rather bluntly.

"Nobody wants to be in this game," Tuchel said.

"All of these four teams wanted to be in New York (at the final). But it is an official World Cup game.

"It's a chance to have the best result in 60 years for England. Mentality is not something that you switch on and switch off as you like it.

"It is a moment to show that we are actually made of what we showed through the whole tournament."

French defender Ibrahima Konate echoed the same sentiment.

"None of us wanted to play in this game for third place," he said.

"But we don't have a choice to play. France and England have a big story together. And, yeah, we are looking forward to the game tomorrow, and let's see what will happen."

England lead 4-0 at half time.