Saka brace and Bellingham stunner hand Tuchel first podium in 6-4 France thriller

England beat France 6-4 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday, securing World Cup bronze and delivering Thomas Tuchel a podium finish early in his tenure. France were torn apart inside 45 minutes, then almost dragged the tie back before Jude Bellingham settled it deep into stoppage time.

Declan Rice set the tone by scoring in the 3rd minute, arriving from midfield to finish before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute after Rice recycled a second phase. Bukayo Saka then produced two clinical finishes, first in the 37th minute from Marcus Rashford’s square pass, then with a calm touch and shot in the 45+1st minute after Eberechi Eze delayed the delivery. England strolled to the break four goals up, their 4-2-3-1 anchored by Rice and Morgan Rogers, with Saka rampant wide right against Theo Hernández.

Didier Deschamps, managing his last match for France, tried to shock the system. A quadruple substitution at the interval introduced Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Digne, and suddenly France found rhythm. Kylian Mbappé converted Michael Olise’s pass in the 48th minute, Barcola made it 4-2 in the 54th minute via Mbappé, and when Mbappé struck again from another Olise assist in the 66th minute the contest almost spun out of Tuchel’s control.

Tuchel’s counter was a Turner-esque rotation. Ollie Watkins replaced Rashford at half-time to press the French hinge, while Bellingham and Elliot Anderson arrived in the 79th minute for Eze and Ivan Toney to restore midfield legs. Saka calmed matters with an 87th-minute penalty after a VAR check on contact in the box, but stoppage time stayed chaotic: Dembélé converted Upamecano’s knockdown in the 90+6th minute, only for Bellingham, ghosting at the far post, to fire England’s sixth in the 90+8th minute. Reece James had already replaced Jarell Quansah in the 83rd minute, and Tuchel closed with Trevoh Chalobah in the 90th minute for Marc Guéhi as England finally secured the back line. Deschamps’ last throw was Jules Koundé for Malo Gusto in the same stoppage sequence.

Match data highlights:

• Shots on target: England 11, France 9.
• Total shots: both sides 19.
• Possession: England 54 percent, France 46 percent.
• Expected goals: England 2.58, France 2.87.

Rice’s authority, with 91 passes attempted and 87 completed alongside one goal and one assist, framed the match. Saka’s hat trick—two open-play finishes plus the 87th-minute penalty—confirmed him as the most influential winger of England’s campaign. For France, Mbappé’s brace took him to 22 World Cup goals overall and 10 in this tournament, ahead of Lionel Messi’s total per federation statisticians, while Olise added two more assists to underline his ascent. Bellingham’s stoppage-time strike set a new England World Cup scoring record with seven, despite his start on the bench.

Deschamps will now vacate the job after 14 years, leaving a squad rich in attacking depth for his successor. Tuchel can sell a third-place run built on youth—Jarell Quansah, Morgan Rogers, Djed Spence—plus the leadership of Rice and Bellingham heading into qualifiers.

Attention now shifts to tonight’s final at MetLife Stadium. Full tactical preview here: Midfield Chess at MetLife: Spain, Argentina Chase Fourth Star in Final Debut.