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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Ed Aarons at Miami Stadium

Saka hat-trick seals 6-4 England win over France in epic World Cup third-place playoff

Bukayo Saka (centre) celebrates with Jude Bellingham and Reece James after scoring his third goal and England’s fifth.
Bukayo Saka (centre) celebrates with Jude Bellingham and Reece James after scoring his third goal and England’s fifth. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

Where to start with this rollercoaster of a match? Thomas Tuchel had promised a reaction but he could not have imagined the manner of the response from England, albeit against a France team firmly on their sunloungers during an incredible first half in which they conceded four times.

Yet with Kylian Mbappé on the hunt for his second successive Golden Boot in Didier Deschamps’ last match in charge of Les Bleus, even that lead courtesy of goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two from Bukayo Saka almost wasn’t enough. Mbappé began the comeback straight after half-time before adding his second after Bradley Barcola’s strike. The 27-year-old has become the first male player to reach double figures at a World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970. Over to you, Lionel.

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