How Bukayo Saka's Hat Trick Led England to a Historic 6-4 Victory Over France

FIFA world cup/photo/Haule Tin/Getty images.

Bukayo Saka's hat trick helped England survive a dramatic second-half comeback to beat France 6-4 in Saturday's chaotic third-place playoff and secure their best finish at a World Cup since 1966.England were up 4-0 at the break as a shambolic France side was dismantled through goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa and two Saka strikes.

‎Both teams made seven changes following their semifinal defeats, but in his final match in charge after 14 years at the helm, France's Didier Deschamps introduced four substitutes at halftime including Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola in an attempt to trigger a response.It began just three minutes after the restart. Michael Olise found Kylian Mbappé in space and his first-time left-foot finish beat Dean Henderson.

‎Six minutes later, Mbappé turned provider, sending Barcola clear to finish inside Henderson's near post before Mbappé finished another France chance to score his 10th goal of the tournament.

‎Mbappé's brace moved him ahead of Lionel Messi as the men's all-time World Cup goal scorer on 22 goals. He also is two clear of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot at this tournament ahead of Argentina's World Cup final against Spain on Sunday.Olise, whose seven assists in a single World Cup is another record, missed a glorious chance to equalize, somehow side-footing wide from 12 yards out, before England finally steadied themselves.

‎Djed Spence burst into the box on the overlap and was brought down by Malo Gusto. Saka converted the 87th-minute penalty to become only the fourth men's player to score a World Cup hat trick for England.

‎There was still time for France to respond again as Dembélé cut in on his left foot to finish, but substitute Jude Bellingham had the final say, driving into the box before finishing from close range to secure a memorable win.

‎Bellingham's late strike made him the first Englishman to score seven goals in a single World Cup.The 10 goals were the most scored in a World Cup match since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982.

‎The wounds from Wednesday's semifinal collapse against Argentina were still raw for Thomas Tuchel on a night that started with boos for the heavily-criticized England manager and ended in a breathless bronze medal.

‎"It is the first medal in 60 years, the best World Cup on foreign soil so I hope the players can be proud on that in some time," he said

‎"We are fiercely competitive so we almost don't allow ourselves to be proud with third place. Eighteen months ago we set the highest goal, the highest dream to chase. We were very, very ambitious with our dream to make it to the final and win the World Cup so it is very, very painful if you miss out. The pain will stay for a while but will go away, the scar will stay. This is how it is in high-level sport.

‎France endured a nightmare first half as they trailed 4-0 after the opening 45 minutes. But Mbappé's first-time finish in the 48th minute prompted a thrilling comeback from Les Bleus, with Bradley Barcola cutting England's lead to two before the France captain found the back of the net again in the 66th minute.

‎Didier Deschamps' team scored a fourth, but a hat trick from Bukayo Saka helped England keep France at arm's length, with Jude Bellingham adding the sixth goal in an instant World Cup classic.

‎Now 39 and playing in his sixth World Cup, Messi has a chance to take the record back from Mbappé when he leads his country in Sunday's final against Spain.

‎"Leo scores all the time. Tomorrow he will score for sure," Mbappé told Fox Sports after the game. "I just try to help my team every time to score. It's certain that when you score so many goals in the World Cup it elevates you to certain levels but there you go.

‎"I would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history and play the match tomorrow. So I think it's good for everything related to legacy and when we stop saying that I was one of those players, but today that's not the first thing on my mind, I would have preferred not to be the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history and instead be able to play in the World Cup final tomorrow."

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