England secured a bronze medal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating France 6-4 in a ten-goal thriller at Miami Stadium on Saturday.
The victory marks the national team's highest tournament finish in 60 years and their best performance on foreign soil.
Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute.
Bukayo Saka netted twice before halftime to give England an unprecedented 4-0 lead against France in World Cup history.
France mounted a second-half comeback led by Kylian Mbappe, who scored twice alongside goals from Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele.
Mbappe's second strike marked his 22nd career World Cup goal, surpassing Lionel Messi's record of 21 goals.
Saka completed his hat-trick with an 87th-minute penalty, while Jude Bellingham sealed the victory with a goal deep in stoppage time.
Captain Reflects on Achievement
Following the match, team captain Harry Kane reflected on the performance and the emotional journey of the squad.
"A lot of positives. Obviously people are going to be talking about it already.
It's the highest finish in 60 years, the highest finish on foreign soil. There is a lot to be proud of," said Kane.
The victory came after England suffered a defeat against Argentina in the semifinals, leaving players and fans processing mixed emotions despite securing a podium finish.
"Of course we're still feeling it from the other night, the emotion and the what ifs. That will be with us for a while now," said Kane.
Kane emphasized the team's determination to approach every international fixture with professionalism regardless of the circumstances surrounding the match.
"I'm proud of the boys, how we approached this game. It wasn't easy to find the mentality.
We said before that every time you represent England it should be a proud moment. It's the least we deserved, to grab a medal," said Kane.
The six-goal display highlighted England's offensive potential during high-stakes international competition.
"The game is impossible to judge because it's a complete opposite to what that would've been if it was a final.
It shows the quality we have. To score six against anyone you have to play a certain way and play well," said Kane.
Reflecting on recent tournament runs, Kane noted the incremental progress the team has made on the international stage.
"Every time you get closer, knock on the door. You think you've learned and you have but we just have to keep going," said Kane.
Looking ahead to upcoming competitive fixtures, the captain urged the team to use the tournament experience to prepare for future challenges.
"It's easy to go away and talk about it. We need to get better at actually being in those situations.
We can train, play the qualifiers… I think the Nations League will be big for us, against Spain and Croatia, big teams," said Kane.
Kane highlighted the necessity of maintaining form against top-tier opponents in major international environments.
"Getting used to those big environments and finding our best form against those teams, like we did against France – albeit not in the most competitive match.
We have to learn, improve," said Kane.
The squad will look to implement tactical adjustments from manager Thomas Tuchel during upcoming international windows. "The coach will have improved from these learnings.
I can talk as much as I want but ultimately it's about showing it next time we're in that situation," said Kane.
Despite the victory, the second-half defensive lapse against France identified key areas requiring improvement before the next major tournament.
"We still showed signs of what we showed the other night unfortunately, when they started to come back into the game.
We couldn't quite get the pressure on the ball and keep the ball. There is stuff we need to improve on," said Kane.
The team faces a two-year cycle to address these technical issues ahead of international competitions.
"We know over the next two years until we're facing that situation again there is always going to be a question mark.
It's something we have to take and use as motivation," said Kane.
Following the conclusion of the match, Kane also shared a statement directly to fans via social media. "A positive way to end this World Cup.
Congrats @BukayoSaka87 on a brilliant hat-trick! Thank you to everyone who has supported us here and at home.
Time for a rest and a break," said Kane.
England will next compete in the UEFA Nations League against Spain and Croatia as part of their preparation for Euro 2028.
