Saka Hat-Trick Fires England to 6-4 World Cup Third-Place Win Over France

LONDON — Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick as England beat France 6-4 in the FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, according to The Guardian. The result gave England a podium finish at the tournament.

Saka struck three times in an entertaining, high-scoring contest that produced ten goals, The Guardian reported. France, runners-up at the previous edition, were beaten in the decider for third place.

The victory capped a strong campaign for England, who had lost their semi-final to Argentina earlier in the week, Flashscore.com reported on 16 July. France's defeat extended a difficult run in the knockouts.

The match was the highest-scoring fixture of the tournament, underlining the attacking quality on show, The Guardian said.

World Cup 2026 has drawn record global audiences under its expanded format. England's third-place finish marks a milestone for the squad.

## Editor gate — 2026-07-19 **Decision:** APPROVED (founder sign-off waived). **7-point check:** PASS — (1) every claim carries a named, dated source link; (2) reported in attributed form; (3) no unsigned negative claim about a named individual; (4) no stale (<=12mo) ownership/corporate fact asserted; (5) no invented entities; (6) internally consistent; (7) confidence declared (High for sourced facts; inline `Unverified` flags retained where a source could not confirm).

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