England claimed third place at the FIFA World Cup after defeating France 6-4 in a thrilling encounter packed with goals, drama and late excitement.

The Three Lions wasted no time asserting themselves, opening the scoring through Declan Rice in the third minute. Ezri Konsa doubled the advantage in the 18th minute before Bukayo Saka struck twice before halftime to give England a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the break.

France emerged with renewed determination after halftime. Kylian Mbappé sparked the comeback with a goal in the 48th minute before setting up Bradley Barcola six minutes later.

Mbappé then grabbed his second of the evening in the 66th minute, reducing the deficit to just one goal and putting England under pressure.

However, England restored their cushion when Saka confidently converted a penalty in the 87th minute to complete his hat-trick.

France refused to give up, with Ousmane Dembélé finding the net deep into stoppage time to make it 5-4.

There was still time for one final twist as Jude Bellingham scored moments later to seal a dramatic 6-4 victory for England.

Both sides created 19 shots during the contest, highlighting how evenly matched the game was despite the scoreline. England enjoyed 55 percent possession and completed 468 of their 517 passes, while France registered 444 passes with an impressive 90 percent completion rate.

The entertaining contest provided a fitting end to both nations’ World Cup campaigns, with England finishing third after one of the tournament’s highest-scoring matches.