⚽️ World Cup 2026: England Jumps Out to a Huge Lead, Then Hang On To Beat France in the Consolation Third Place Game ⚽️

  

France's World Cup is now over.

Now we saw it in it's entirety. They started off the tournament sizzling.

But they end the tournament fizzling, with two straight losses. They were outscored in those two combined games, 8-4.

That's a tough pill to swallow.

This was a team that many favored to go all the way, to win the whole thing. Instead, they finish in fourth place.

Pas terrible. But certainly not quite as magical as earning what might have been a third star on their jersey. Now that would have been incredible!

Alas, it was not to be. In the semifinal game, Spain's defense was simply impenetrable. Then against England, France's defense proved very leaky, especially in the first half, as England raced out to a 4-0 lead by halftime.

At that point, frankly, it looked like it was going to be a blowout in favor of England. France had not scored a goal in three straight halves, and had been collectively outscored by Spain and England, 6-0, during that stretch.

Not good.

To their credit, though, France fought back. They actually scored four goals themselves in the second half. However, England managed to hang on as Bukayo Saka successfully converted a penalty in the 87th minute after France had pulled to within a goal, making it 5-3 in favor of England.

Yet France scored again, Ousmane Dembélé made it exciting again, scoring a goal and once again pulling France to within a goal, at 5-4.

But it was not to be. England ended all suspense when Jude Bellingham scored the game's final goal in the eighth minute of extra time.

That provided the final score of 6-4. Between the two sides, 10 goals were scored. That qualifies this thriller as the highest scoring game of this World Cup tournament. 

England wins the bronze medal. That marks their second best World Cup finish ever, and their best since winning the whole thing back in 1966 as the host nation.

As for France, this fourth-place finish is the second one of my lifetime. They also finished fourth in the 1982 tournament. Not bad, but also not what they wanted.

Now, France enters a transition. Coach Didier Deschamps, who led France to the 2018 World Cup title, as well as the coach for the winning French side, as well as qualifying for the 2016 Euro Final and the 2022 World Cup Final, steps down. He will hand over the reins to his former teammate, Zinedine Zidane. Like Deschamps, Zidane has helped lead France to glory as a player, helping lead France to the 1998 World Cup title and the 2000 Euro title as a teammate of Deschamps.