England won its first ever bronze medal at the World Cup. Thomas Tuchel's team defeated France 6:4 in Miami. The match at the “Hard Rock“ stadium became the highest-scoring minor final in the history of the world finals. The match was Didier Deschamps' last in charge of the "Roosters".
The drama in the first half
The English started with a bang. Declan Rice opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a precise long-range shot. In the 18th minute, Ezri Konsa doubled the lead with a header from a corner kick. A real bonus for Bukayo Saka followed. The Arsenal star scored two quick goals in the 37th minute and in added time of the first half, bringing the “Three Lions“ to a comfortable 4:0 before the break.
The French attack and Mbappe's records
The second half offered a completely different scenario. Deschamps' substitutions stabilized the faltering French defense. Kylian Mbappe restored France's hopes with a goal in the 48th minute. Six minutes later, Bradley Barcola reduced the gap to 2:4.
In the 66th minute, Mbappe scored his second goal of the match. With it, he became the sole top scorer in World Cup history with a total of 22 goals. The goal was his 10th in the current tournament. Michael Oliseh, who assisted on the goals, also broke the record – he already has 7 assists in a single World Cup, surpassing the legend Pele.
Final minutes from another planet
In the 87th minute, Bukayo Saka created his hat-trick after a well-taken penalty, awarded for a foul on Jed Spence. However, the drama continued in the added 7-minute extra time. Ousmane Dembele made it 4:5 in the 96th minute. The final score 6:4 for England fixed Jude Bellingham in the 98th minute with a beautiful individual breakthrough.
This is how England leaves the USA, Canada and Mexico with the bronze medals. France remains in fourth place. Tonight at 22:00 Bulgarian time, the big clash for the title between Argentina and Spain is coming up.