Bronze Recap — England 6-4 France

The third-place play-off is meant to be the game nobody wants. Nobody told these two. **England 6-4 France** — ten goals, a Saka hat-trick, and the most in a single World Cup match in over 40 years. For anyone on the overs, it was the play of the tournament.

Played on 18 July, the bronze final gave England their best World Cup finish since winning it in 1966 — third place — via a 10-goal thriller against a France side in Didier Deschamps’ final match after 14 years in charge. Australian viewers who tuned in on SBS for a "dead rubber" got the highest-scoring game of the whole tournament instead.

The bronze final at a glance

Why the goals market was the story

Ten goals in one game is the headline — the most in a single World Cup match since 1982, and it turned every overs line into a winner. The result also sealed a piece of the bigger picture: Mbappé’s bronze-game brace took him to 10 for the tournament, which locked up the Golden Boot and — via his 22nd career World Cup goal — the all-time scoring record.

Sources: Al Jazeera; Sky — 18 Jul 2026. This was the highest-scoring match of the 2026 tournament.

How it fits the final standings

The result set the bottom half of the podium: England 3rd, France 4th, behind champions Spain and runners-up Argentina.

The local angle — the value was in the overs

For Aussie punters, the bronze final was a lesson in reading a “meaningless” fixture. Two attacking sides, nothing tactical to protect, and two players (Mbappé, Saka) with individual incentives to chase — the ingredients for goals were all there before kick-off. The overs and both-teams-to-score markets were the play, not the result. The final the next morning drew a record 5.26m to SBS; the bronze game was the warm-up that quietly returned more for anyone on the goals lines. Full replays sit free on SBS On Demand.

More: the full final recap, the settled awards board, Spain’s records and the England team page.