Six of the best: England win a 10-goal bronze thriller as Mbappé seizes the Golden Boot

England beat France 6-4 in a breathless third-place play-off, the highest-scoring match of the tournament, to take bronze. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick and England led 4-0 before a Kylian Mbappé brace hauled France back to 4-3; Saka's penalty and a Jude Bellingham goal settled it. Mbappé's double took him to 10 for the tournament and the outright Golden Boot lead, one day before Messi's final.

They call it the game nobody wants to play. Somebody forgot to tell England and France. In a breathless, gloriously ridiculous third-place play-off, England beat France 6-4, the highest-scoring match of the entire World Cup, to take the bronze medal, and the afternoon belonged to two men chasing very different prizes.

England were sensational out of the blocks, four goals to the good inside the first half. Declan Rice thumped them ahead after three minutes, Ezri Konsa headed a second, and Bukayo Saka struck twice more before the break to make it a barely believable 4-0. It looked like it might be a rout.

It was anything but. A France side with pride to play for, and Kylian Mbappé in the mood, refused to lie down. Mbappé pulled one back on forty-eight minutes, Bradley Barcola made it 4-2 on fifty-four, and Mbappé struck again on sixty-six to somehow drag France within one at 4-3. Suddenly the consolation match was a heavyweight shoot-out.

England held their nerve at the last. Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot on eighty-seven minutes to restore the cushion, and though Ousmane Dembélé made it 5-4 deep in stoppage time, Jude Bellingham had the final say to seal a 6-4 win and the bronze.

Saka's hat-trick was the individual highlight in an England shirt, but the bigger story wore blue. Mbappé's brace took him to ten goals for the tournament, clear at the top of the Golden Boot and a gauntlet thrown down to Lionel Messi, who sits on eight and plays in the final. The Frenchman has made his statement; now the old king must answer it.

For two beaten semifinalists, this was catharsis and pure entertainment in equal measure, proof that even the game nobody wants can be a joy to watch. England go home with bronze, France fourth, and the neutrals go home grinning. But all eyes now turn to the main event. Mchezo wa nafasi ya tatu umekuwa tamasha la magoli, na Mbappé ametupa changamoto Messi kabla ya fainali: the third-place game was a festival of goals, and Mbappé has thrown down a challenge to Messi before the final. Follow the finale on our bracket.