England 6-4 France: Barmy bronze final seal Three Lions best World Cup showing since 1966

England 6-4 France: Barmy bronze final seal Three Lions best World Cup showing since 1966

A remarkable 10 goals shared in third-place play-off as Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick

England secure best finish at World Cup since 1966 with incredible 6-4 win over France

England have secured their best finish at a World Cup since 1966 with a 6-4 win over France in the third-place play-off. An absolutely thrilling game saw the Three Lions go in at half-time 4-0 up, thanks to goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Bukayo Saka. France mounted a comeback in the second half, with Kylian Mbappe getting a brace, Bradley Barcola chipping in and Ousmane Dembele scoring. Goals from Saka, with a penalty, and a fantastic strike by Jude Bellingham mean England win 6-4 and conclude their World Cup with their second-best ever finish. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say England started brilliantly in the contest, with Rice getting on the scoresheet early doors. The Arsenal midfielder picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area and guided a delicate, curling strike into the bottom right corner to give the Three Lions the lead. Shortly after, Marcus Rashford got himself in behind, striking goalwards, but it was well blocked. There was a relaxed feel around the game, with neither side performing any dark arts, as was to be expected given the nature of the fixture. LATEST SPORTS NEWS England rugby beat Argentina 31-24 in hard-fought contest following late TMO call Xabi Alonso settles into London life with round of golf after first week as Chelsea boss Gianni Infantino nearly forgets England's third-place play-off match Saka had one strike given offside after going slightly too early with his run, before getting in behind again not long after, but his shot was well blocked by Maxence Lacroix. From the resulting corner whipped in by Rice, Konsa rose brilliantly and glanced a beautiful header past Mike Maignan to put the Three Lions two up. Mbappe got his first sniff on goal just before the half-hour mark, with Dean Henderson out quickly to deflect the ball before being cleared off the line by Marc Guehi. Fortunately for the pair, the flag was up anyway. Saka got his first of the game to make it 3-0 after he and Marcus Rashford