England raced into a four-goal lead before withstanding a stunning second-half comeback from France to win a tournament classic and finish third at the 2026 World Cup.
The Three Lions were absolutely outstanding in the first half and raced into a 4-0 lead after Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two goals from Bukayo Saka put England in complete control.
But four changes from France at halftime and Les Bleus looked a completely different team.
By the second-half hydration break, England's lead had slipped from four goals to just one, with Kylian Mbappé netting twice to become the World Cup's all-time top goalscorer and Bradley Barcola also getting on the scoresheet.
Michael Olise had a very presentable chance to level for France but put his shot wide. And that proved to be a costly miss as England went down the other end and won a penalty, with Saka calmly completing his hat trick from the spot.
Ousmane Dembélé did give England something to worry about right at the death with France's fourth goal after Dayot Upamecano's brilliant pass.
But then Jude Bellingham made sure of the result in the dying embers to ensure England delivered their best World Cup finish since 1966.
England attackers show what they can do when given the chance
Thomas Tuchel has received a lot of criticism after England failed to attack Argentina effectively when taking the lead in their late semifinal collapse.
Whether that criticism prompted the England manager to pick a team laced with attacking talent is unclear, but whatever his motivations, his tactics paid off in a pulsating first half blitz.
Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze were both included and playing as No. 10s, while Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford seemed to be running in behind the French defence at will.
They were helped by some torrid defending from France, it must be said, and Didier Deschamps switched two of his defenders at half time in attempt to stem the tide.
But England were prolific, dangerous and an absolute joy to watch in the first half.
It did, though, raise the question: where was this attacking approach when it mattered?
But it shows that the future for England can be bright and a win over France should not be taken lightly no matter the circumstances.
Maybe in two years' time at the Euros, England can put their attacking best on show in the final at Wembley.
England's second-half wobble reopens old wounds but they dodge France's knockout blow
England led 4-0 at halftime and even the most negative of supporters cannot have thought there was a chance that come the second-half hydration break, Tuche's team would be on the ropes.
But that is exactly what happened and it brought a big sense of déjà vu from an England perspective.
When Tuchel spoke to his players at that hydration break, most of the players looked shellshocked and it appeared England were well on their way to letting another lead slip through their fingers.
Fortunately for England, Olise and Dembele missed three very presentable chances between them when the game got under way again.
It was fitting, too, that it was Djed Spence who won the penalty that effectively won the game after he put in such a brilliant shift against Argentina, before ultimately ending up on the wrong side of that result.
On another day, this could have been another extremely painful defeat for England and the discourse could be entirely different.
But this time Tuchel, with a bit of luck from an abnormally poor France team and some excellent second half changes, is able to point to the fact he has delivered England's best World Cup finish since 1966.
Team lineups
England (4-1-4-1)
Dean Henderson
Jarell Quansah (Reece James 83'), Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi (Trevoh Chalobah 93'), Djed Spence
Declan Rice
Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze (Jude Bellingham 79'), Marcus Rashford (Ollie Watkins 46')
Ivan Toney (Elliot Anderson 79')
France (4-2-3-1)
Mike Maignan
Malo Gusto (Jules Kounde 91'), Ibrahima Konate (Dayot Upamecano 46'), Maxence Lacroix, Theo Hernandez (Lucas Digne 46')
Adrien Rabiot, Warren Zaire-Emery
Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki (Ousmane Dembélé 46'), Desire Doue (Bradley Barcola 46')
Kylian Mbappé
Snapshot: Framing the drama
Key stats
- Declan's Rice goal (timed at 2:14) is the second-quickest goal by an Englishmen in World Cup History. The quickest goal was after 28 seconds from Bryan Robson in 1982 -- also against France
France conceded four first-half goals in a World Cup match for the first time
- Mbappé has now scored in six of the seven stages played in the World Cup. The only round he has not scored in is the semifinal (three games)
- Mbappé has 14 goal contributions in this World Cup (10 goals, four assists) -- the most in a single edition in last 60 years
- Olise has seven assists at the 2026 World Cup -- the most registered in a single World Cup campaign in the last 60 years
- Bellingham has seven goals at the 2026 World Cup -- the most in a single World Cup by an Englishman
- The 10 goals scored in are the most in a World Cup match since 1982 (Hungary 10-1 El Salvador)
Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story.