England beat France 6-4 in a chaotic World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday (July 18, 2026) as Kylian Mbappe became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.

Also read: FIFA World Cup third-place playoff Highlights

Both teams had higher aspirations at the 2026 tournament but suffered painful semi-final exits — France were outplayed by Spain while England suffered a late collapse against Argentina.

Both coaches made multiple changes for the match in the oppressive heat of Miami, with a host of stars on the bench at the start.

England boss Thomas Tuchel left out Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham from his starting line-up while Deschamps, stepping down after 14 years at the helm, omitted Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice put England ahead with a goal from distance in the third minute and Ezri Konsa headed home to make it 2-0.

Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were a threat as France searched for a way back into the game but they found England’s second-choice goalkeeper Dean Henderson in top form.

The game threatened to become embarrassing for France when Bukayo Saka made it 3-0 after a swift break.

And it was 4-0 in first-half stoppage time when Saka scored his second goal of the game, celebrated with a fist pump by Tuchel.

France coach Didier Deschamps told French TV channel M6 that the first-half display had been “catastrophic”, urging his men to show pride.

He made four changes, bringing on Dembele, Dayot Upamecano, Lucas Digne and Barcola and was rewarded almost instantly when Mbappe scored his ninth goal of the tournament to move clear of Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot standings.

The game had now totally changed complexion and Barcola pulled another goal back, with Deschamps clenching his fist on the bench.

Mbappe then netted his second of the game to become the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with 22 goals — slotting home from Olise’s pass.

That put him two ahead of Messi in the race to finish as top scorer at the 2026 tournament.

France squandered a number of chances to equalise and England were handed a chance to extend their lead when Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence in the penalty area.

Saka stepped up to the spot and converted to complete his hat-trick. There was still time for Dembele to grab a fourth for France but Bellingham then strode forward to score the 10th goal of the match with an individual effort.

In doing so Bellingham became the first England player to score seven goals at a World Cup.

By finishing third, England secured their best result at a World Cup since winning the tournament in 1966, though they will carry bitter memories of their defeat by defending champions Argentina.

Deschamps led France to World Cup glory in 2018 and finished as runners-up four years ago. Les Bleus were favourites to win the 2026 tournament after a sensational start but were well-beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semi-finals.

Three-time champions Argentina face European champions Spain in the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday.

Argentina players held up a political banner declaring “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas” (“The ​Falklands are Argentine”) after their 2-1 World Cup ‌semi-final victory over England on Wednesday (July 15, 2026), in ​apparent contravention of FIFA rules.

FIFA’s ⁠Stadium Code of Conduct bans “banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia that are of a political, offensive, ‌and/or discriminatory nature” inside stadiums.

World football’s ruling body did not immediately reply ‌to a request for comment. The question ‌of sovereignty over the islands in the ⁠South Atlantic known to the British as the Falklands and the Argentines as the Malvinas has been a ​long-running sore in ‌relations between the countries.

They fought a short conflict over the islands in 1982, in which 649 Argentine soldiers and 255 British combatants ‌died. Britain ultimately won and the ​vast majority of residents of the islands have said they wish to ⁠remain part of Britain.

But Argentina has long claimed it inherited the islands from Spain after ‌its independence in 1816 and that Britain took control in 1833 through an illegal colonial act.

Lisandro Martinez and Giovani Lo Celso held up the banner, grinning, and waved to fans in the stands. It was unclear ‌where the banner had come from. It is not ​the first time the question of political banners has come up during ⁠the World Cup.

Last month in Los Angeles, ⁠Iranian Americans waved pre-revolutionary flags that are symbols of protest against the Tehran ‌government when Iran played. Those matches proceeded without incident.

France has turned consistency in World Cups into an art form, lifting the ultimate prize in 2018, finishing runner-up four years later and securing another semifinal qualification in ongoing tournament. Since conquering the football world eight years ago, Les Bleus have set a benchmark for other National teams.

The 2-0 victory over Morocco extended that remarkable run; what stands out is the fact that France is only the third nation ever to reach three consecutive semifinals, with Didier Deschamps’ army joining Germany (four straight from 2002-2014, three from 1982-1990) and Brazil (three from 1994-2002).

The driving force behind France’s enviable success has been Kylian Mbappe, whose leadership and decisive contributions have given his side another shot at glory.

Since the 2018 World Cup, the thrill-a-minute forward has bagged 20 goals in the marquee event, including eight in this edition. Mbappe is involved in a closely contested Golden Boot race with Argentine talisman Lionel Messi (8 goals).

That the French captain has been surrounded by world-class talent has also helped in producing solid results. Ousmane Dembele has blossomed into a Ballon d’Or winner and has raised his game with crucial goals, while the in-form Michael Olise, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola have taken some weight off Mbappe in the current edition.

While the attacking unit has grabbed the attention, the backline, led by William Saliba, has quietly gone about its business.

Overseeing it all is Deschamps, whose tactical acumen and man-management skills have been the common thread through the three tournaments. He has repeatedly rebuilt the squad capable of peaking at the right moments.

With Spain awaiting in the semifinals on Tuesday, France stands just one victory away from another final. Regardless of the outcome, this generation will always have its place in football history. Les Bleus continue to redefine excellence, proving that dynasties are not built on one golden generation but on a culture that refuses to stop winning.

Lionel Scaloni had barely sat down before he admitted the obvious.

Argentina had put its supporters through unnecessary “suffering”. Yet the manager was in no mood to apologise for the chaos. What he had witnessed, he felt, was something larger than a comeback win over Egypt, larger even than qualification. It was proof of the sort of team Argentina is, a side which never gives up.

“We made our people suffer even though we didn’t play a bad game,” Scaloni said after the 3-2 victory. “I am a coach for moments like this. The calibre of what we saw goes beyond just going through (to the quarterfinals). We would have been out if we didn’t fight.”

Scaloni insisted that Argentina had not been as poor as the scoreline at one stage suggested. Egypt, he acknowledged, was “an excellent team” that converted its openings well, but he pointed to the opportunities his own side had created long before the late surge. “We had three or four clear chances and if we had scored, nobody would talk about it. We had to dig in.”

Even when Argentina fell two goals behind, the chief coach never felt that the game had escaped it completely. “You feel concerned when you are not in control, but today we were. I saw the game going our way as we created chances.” It was, in effect, an argument that Argentina’s tough times came not from inferiority but from wastefulness.

The emotional centre of Scaloni’s night was Lionel Messi. The captain failed to convert a penalty and looked, for a while, like the tragic figure in Argentina’s elimination story. But he then became one of the authors of its rescue. “Messi is a role model for all the players,” Scaloni said. “He missed a penalty, but he still asks for the ball and goes on and on.”

He stopped short of placing the “epic” night alongside the World Cup final in Qatar but suggested that it belonged to the same emotional universe. Messi, he said, “lives football for moments like this”, and Argentina wanted him to keep enjoying them while he still could.

But Scaloni was careful not to let the story become only about him or his captain. “It’s useless to say we win because of my actions. We have these great players, and you use them when you need them. That’s not genius. The players are making the difference”.

The hallmark of champions is not simply their brilliance but the quality waiting beyond the spotlight. Argentina started without several of its biggest names, including captain Lionel Messi, against Jordan yet scarcely looked diminished as it completed a flawless Group J campaign with a 3-1 triumph on Sunday.

Lionel Scaloni made nine changes to the side that beat Austria, with only goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and striker Lautaro Martinez retaining their spots. For much of the opening half, the loudest cheers inside the Dallas colosseum were reserved not for the players on the pitch but the man sitting in the dugout.

Every time the giant screen showed Messi, seated alongside clubmate Rodrigo De Paul with an amused expression, the stadium erupted before returning to its familiar chorus. “Muchachos, ahora nos volvimos a ilusionar, quiero ganar la cuarta, quiero ser campeón mundial (Guys, now we can dream again, I want to win the fourth one, I want to be world champion),” sang the Argentine faithful.

On the field, Argentina’s understudies gave them more to cheer for. The South Americans monopolised possession but initially found Jordan’s compact defensive block difficult to break down. The breakthrough, however, arrived in the 19th minute after Mohannad Abutaha brought Giovani Lo Celso down just outside the penalty box. The Real Betis midfielder punished the untidy Jordanians by curling his free-kick around a poorly organised wall.

Argentina’s pressure soon brought another reward. Lautaro’s angled effort struck the post before Marcos Senesi, following up on the rebound, was caught in the face by Nizar Al-Rashdan’s raised boot. After a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot, and Lautaro calmly sent his penalty into the bottom-left corner.

In Messi’s absence, Argentina found different routes to goal, and around the half-hour mark, the contest was already drifting away from Jordan. But the Asian side, playing in its first World Cup, refused to become a supporting act. Mousa Al-Tamari’s sliding finish in the 55th minute cut short the deficit, just as Messi started warming up.

The moment the No. 10 stepped towards the halfway line, the crowd found another gear. The roar that greeted his arrival dwarfed every celebration that had come earlier.

His now-customary World Cup goal — for a seventh successive match — arrived in the 80th minute as he outfoxed Jordanian goalkeeper Yazid Abulaila with a low free-kick that flew past the wall at 103kmph. At last, the full house of 70,649 had what it had been waiting for.

As football fans world over celebrate their abiding love for the sport in the ongoing season of FIFA World Cup, The Hindu’s reporters attempt to put the fever and frenzy into perspective with a series on Bengaluru’s tryst with the game over the decades.

This three-part series looks at the how teams from Public Sector Undertakings promoted a thriving football culture in the city from the 1970s to early 2000s, only to be cemented in the later years by academies which came up in response to the growing demand for structured training in the sport.

The series also traces the journeys of several prominent football stars who emerged from areas in Bengaluru such as Austin Town and Gowthampura, and played a significant role in shaping the sport for India.

Bengaluru football fanbase thrives under giant shadow of cricket

On February 15, as India and Pakistan faced off in a marquee T20 World Cup clash in Colombo, more than 11,000 football fans assembled at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to watch Bengaluru FC begin its Indian Super League (ISL) campaign against Sporting Club Delhi. Is football carving out a niche under the giant shadow of cricket in Bengaluru, and what in-stadia experience is attracting the enthusiasts? The Hindu examines the sporting scene of the city seeking answers.
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The Hindu