If you tuned in for the World Cup England-France game and checked out at halftime, nobody would have blamed you. The Three Lions led 4-0 at the half in a third-place game that was a blowout. You would have been right to assume England was in complete control and France had all but given up. You also would have been forgiven for turning off the TV and moving on to the rest of your Saturday. But for those who stuck it out, you were rewarded for your patience and loyalty.
France didn’t waste any time getting on the board just three minutes into the second half with Kylian Mbappé’s first goal of the game. Mbappé’s goal didn’t matter all that much at that point, except if you’ve been following the Golden Boot race. England still held a commanding 4-1 lead, thanks to goals from Declan Rice (3rd minute), Ezri Konsa (18th), and Bukayo Saka’s brace (37th and stoppage time). Saka would complete the hat-trick in the 87th minute with a penalty conversion.
France didn’t let up. Out of nowhere, Bradley Barcola made things super interesting with a goal in the 54th minute. Mbappé added another one in the 66th minute, and just like that, England’s commanding lead was suddenly 4-3. The next 25 minutes or so proved to be incredibly tense until Saka’s penalty kick conversion in the 87th minute gave England some breathing room, 5-3. As a side note, soccer fans are hailing Jude Bellingham for stepping aside from taking the PK himself to add to his World Cup goals total, allowing Saka to complete the hat trick.
But Les Bleus weren’t done yet. Ousmane Dembele made it 5-4 with a goal six minutes into stoppage time. But just two minutes later, Bellingman put the game out of reach for good with his seventh World Cup goal. The 23-year-old stud is third in the Golden Boot race.
And just like that, an instant classic.
What’s next?
Mbappé is looking to become the first player to win the Golden Boot race twice. He won the contest last year. He’s currently sitting with 10 goals in this World Cup tournament. And with one game left (Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain), only one player can catch up to him: the legendary Lionel Messi.
With his brace against England, Mbappé, 27, became the first male player to reach double figures at a World Cup since Gerd Müller did so in 1970.
As for England, it’s safe to say the Three Lions are in good hands with Bellingham clearly ready to take over as team captain. But who will be guiding the ship is still not yet known. England manager Thomas Tuchel has publicly said he wants to lead England into Euro 2028, which will be played in the UK. And while Tuchel signed a contract extension before the World Cup started, he didn’t exactly make a great case for himself to be retained after telling reporters that he would not change a single thing following England’s catastrophic collapse against Argentina in the semifinals.
You’ll recall England led 1-0 to open the second half. But England played it way too safe from that point forward, opting for a five-back line as they desperately tried, and failed, to defend the one-goal lead. The approach ultimately doomed England against a hungry Argentina team with no quit, as it found the back of the net in the 85th minute and in stoppage time for the stunning comeback win.
England received a roaring ovation during the third-place medal ceremony, but there’s no doubt fans across the pond are saying, “Oh, what could have been,” had England dialed up the pressure against Argentina after leading 1-0 instead of hanging back and setting up what turned out to be a very penetrable wall.
