England achieved third place in the 2026 World Cup in football, with its impressive and prolific scoring victory over France 6-4 on Saturday in Miami, achieving its best position in the tournament since 1966 when it won its first title. In a match played by the two coaches with a lineup that witnessed the participation of many reserve elements after the disappointing exit from the semi-finals, England took the lead in the first half with a quartet of Declan Rice (3), Ezri Konsa (18), and Bukayo Saka (37, 45 + 1). The French tried to turn the tables with a hat-trick by Kylian Mbappe (48th, 66th) and Bradley Barkola (54th), but Saka extinguished the flurry with a penalty kick (87th). Ousmane Dembélé gave France a final dose of hope (90+6), before Jude Bellingham eliminated their hopes (90+8). Despite the loss, Mbappe (27 years old), with his tenth goal in the current edition, broke the record for the number of goals scored in the history of the World Cup (22), one goal ahead of veteran Argentine Lionel Messi (21), who has 8 goals and will play in the final on Sunday against Spain in New Jersey. This is the first time a World Cup match has witnessed 10 or more goals scored since 1982, when Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1, while the record stands at 12 goals. It is true that the match does not reflect the good journey of the two teams in the tournament, given that they played the confrontation with two reserve squads, but France was subjected to an embarrassing first half, when it conceded four goals for the first time during a major tournament, in the World Cup and the European Cup combined. The loss was harsh, especially for France coach Didier Deschamps, in his last match at the helm of the “Blue Blues” technical staff, after 14 busy years in which he led them to the 2018 title and 2022 runner-up. Deschamps made extensive adjustments to his starting lineup, which lost to Spain 0-2 in the semi-finals, but it included its captain and top scorer, Mbappe, who achieved an individual achievement by remaining at the top of all-time top scorers (22). As for England's German coach, Thomas Tuchel, he went further in making changes compared to the squad that lost the semi-final to Argentina 1-2, as he kept only three key players out of eleven.