France 4-6 England stats: Saka follows Three Lions legend

England secured their best-ever finish at a men’s World Cup on foreign soil and their highest tournament placing since 1966 after a thrilling 6-4 win over France in the FIFA World Cup 2026 bronze final.

This was the first World Cup game to see 10 or more goals scored since Hungary 10-1 El Salvador in 1982 and the first knockout stage match since Austria 7-5 Switzerland in 1954.

Following his hat-trick, Bukayo Saka is the second England player to score three goals in a World Cup knockout stage match after Sir Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final. The only other player to score a treble versus France in the competition is Brazil’s Pelé in 1958.

England scored four first half goals in a World Cup knockout stage match for the first time, and for the second time overall after the 2018 group stage against Panama (led 5-0).

At the 11th attempt, England have won a World Cup game against an opponent ranked higher than them in the FIFA World Rankings for only the second time, previously beating Argentina 1-0 in 2002 (D1 L8).

Jude Bellingham’s seven goals are the outright most ever by an England player at a single FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship tournament.

France 4-6 England is the game at the 2026 World Cup with the most shots on target (20) and the highest combined tally (5.7); 20 shots on target is the most at the tournament since Belgium 2-1 USA in 2014 (22).

Declan Rice’s opener was England's second earliest goal in a World Cup game (2:14), behind only Bryan Robson's goal against France after 28 seconds in 1982.

This was England’s first major tournament game (World Cup/EURO) without Jordan Pickford starting in goal since the EURO 2016 encounter with Iceland (Joe Hart); it ended a Three Lions’ record for the most consecutive starts made by a player at those competitions (33 in a row).

England started three Arsenal players in a World Cup game (Rice, Saka, Eze) for the first time since 2002 against Brazil (Seaman, Campbell, Cole). 

As the Three Lions sealed their best-ever finish at a World Cup on foreign soil, Rice also add his name to the history books. The midfielder became the 14th player to captain an England side at a men’s World Cup. The others were Billy Wright, Johnny Haynes, Bobby Moore, Mick Mills, Bryan Robson, Peter Shilton, Terry Butcher, Alan Shearer, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Harry Kane and Eric Dier.

As well as his goal, Rice also recorded the assist for Ezri Konsa’s header which put England 2-0 up with a precise corner delivery. The Arsenal man became just the fifth England player to score or assist in their first World Cup match as captain after Shearer, Beckham, Gerrard and Kane. He is the first to record both a goal and an assist in the same match as a first-time World Cup skipper.