England barely clung to a 6-4 victory over France in the World Cup third-place match Saturday, but don’t let that score fool you. The Three Lions nearly pulled off an all-time disastrous collapse, flirting with blowing a massive 4-0 lead in a game that turned into an absolute roller coaster. What started as a total laugher almost became a complete nightmare for England, barely surviving their own generosity in what became the highest scoring World Cup game since 1982.
The Three Lions came out swinging, racing to a commanding 4-0 lead. Declan Rice found the net, and Bukayo Saka scored twice in the opening half, looking like England was about to cruise to an easy win. But then France, and specifically Kylian Mbappe, decided to show up. Mbappe dropped a stunning two goals as part of a three-goal outburst to kick off the second half. Suddenly, this game flipped from a blowout to a full-blown crisis in a matter of minutes. That brace also pushed Mbappe to 21 World Cup goals for his career, officially passing Lionel Messi for the most in tournament history! He also became the first player to score double-digit goals at the World Cup since German legend Gerd Muller back in 1970. Crazy.
France was smelling blood, pressing hard with both wings and quick passes in the middle. Michael Olise even missed a golden chance right in front of goal that would have tied it up. England’s back line was hanging on by a thread, but this time, coach Thomas Tuchel didn’t go all out with defensive subs, a move that bit them against Argentina. Every cross, every shot, had England sweating. Then, deep in stoppage time, Djed Spence earned a penalty, and Saka coolly slotted it home for his hat trick, making it 5-3. Even after that, France scored again, before Jude Bellingham delivered an absolutely ridiculous solo goal to slam the door shut and put England up 6-4.
England escaped with third place, their best finish since winning the tournament in 1966, and a step up from their fourth-place finish in 2018. But man, their nerves gotta be absolutely shot after that one. What a wild ride!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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