Bukayo Saka scored a historic hat-trick as England defeated France 6-4 in a breathtaking FIFA World Cup encounter, sealing victory in one of the highest-scoring matches of the tournament.
The Arsenal winger became only the fourth England player to score a World Cup hat-trick, joining Geoff Hurst (1966), Gary Lineker (1986) and Harry Kane (2018).
England made a dream start, taking the lead after just three minutes when Declan Rice fired a powerful long-range effort beyond Mike Maignan.
Saka thought he had doubled the lead in the 12th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside. England, however, remained in control and made it 2-0 in the 18th minute as Ezri Konsa headed home from Rice’s corner.
France struggled to cope with England’s pace and movement, and Saka struck twice before halftime. He finished from Marcus Rashford’s pass in the 37th minute before adding another in first-half stoppage time with a superb strike from the edge of the box to send England into the break with a commanding 4-0 lead.
France responded strongly after halftime.
Kylian Mbappe pulled one back three minutes into the second half before setting up Bradley Barcola to reduce the deficit to 4-2 in the 54th minute.
The pressure continued as Mbappe combined with Michael Olise, whose pass allowed the Real Madrid forward to score France’s third goal in the 66th minute.
England regained breathing space in the 87th minute after Malo Gusto fouled an opponent inside the penalty area. Saka calmly converted the spot kick to complete his hat-trick and restore England’s two-goal advantage at 5-3.
France refused to give up, with Ousmane Dembele scoring deep into stoppage time to make it 5-4 and set up a tense finish.
However, Jude Bellingham settled the contest almost immediately, producing a brilliant solo run before firing England’s sixth goal into the bottom corner in the 98th minute.
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Despite the defeat, Mbappe continued his remarkable World Cup scoring run. His goal took him to 22 World Cup goals, moving him ahead of Lionel Messi as the competition’s all-time leading scorer. He also finished the tournament with 10 goals, becoming only the fourth player to score 10 or more goals at a single World Cup after Just Fontaine, Sándor Kocsis and Gerd Müller.
Olise also set a new World Cup record with his seventh assist of the tournament, but it was Saka’s unforgettable night that secured England’s famous victory.
