© Imago
The crowd in Miami witnessed a goal fest in the World Cup bronze final. Having led 4-0 at half-time, England narrowly defeated France 6-4 following two goals in stoppage time. With the third-place finish, captain Harry Kane – who remained on the bench for 90 minutes – and his team have secured the country’s second-best result at a World Cup. Coach Thomas Tuchel made seven changes to his line-up following the gruelling 2-1 semi-final defeat against Argentina, resting a number of key players.
© Imago
France coach Didier Deschamps also rotated following the loss to Spain in the semi-finals, with FC Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano only coming on at half-time. Michael Olise did start, however, and saw how England raced into a 4-0 lead in the first half through Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and two goals from Bukayo Saka.
However, Les Bleus fought back after the break and reduced the deficit to just one thanks to a Kylian Mbappé brace – both assisted by Olise – and Bradley Barcola. Bayern winger Olise then missed two opportunities to equalise before England scored what should have been the decider with a Saka penalty. However, Ousmane Dembelé gave the 2018 world champions brief hope again in the sixth minute of added time following Upamecano’s pass, but Jude Bellingham sealed a 6-4 win for the Three Lions.
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