'Time for...': Harry Kane breaks silence after England's FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign ends with bronze

England captain Harry Kane struck an upbeat note after the Three Lions closed their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a bronze medal, praising Bukayo Saka’s stunning hat-trick and thanking supporters following a remarkable 6-4 victory over France.

The third-place playoff at Miami Stadium on Saturday turned into a 10-goal spectacle, with England racing four goals clear before surviving a ferocious French comeback in a breathless second half.

For Kane, the dramatic victory offered England something to celebrate at the end of a demanding tournament. He singled out Saka, whose three goals proved decisive, before admitting it was finally time for the squad to switch off and recover.


“A positive way to end this World Cup. Congrats @BukayoSaka87 on a brilliant hat-trick! Thank you to everyone who has supported us here and at home. Time for a rest and a break,” Kane wrote on X.


The victory secured third place for Thomas Tuchel’s side and marked England’s best finish at a World Cup staged outside their home country since their 1966 triumph.

England stun France with four-goal first-half blitz

Few could have predicted what was coming when the match kicked off.

England needed only three minutes to break through, with Declan Rice finding the net to give the Three Lions the perfect start.

France barely had time to settle before the deficit doubled. Ezri Konsa struck in the 18th minute as England seized complete control of the contest and left their opponents scrambling for answers.

Then came Saka.

The Arsenal forward struck his first goal in the 37th minute before finding the net again in first-half stoppage time, sending England into the break with an extraordinary 4-0 advantage.

The four-goal first-half collapse marked unfamiliar territory for France, who had never previously conceded four times in a single half of World Cup football.

But anyone expecting the second half to become a procession for England was quickly proved wrong.

Mbappe sparks extraordinary French fightback

With France facing a humiliating defeat, Didier Deschamps made tactical changes at the interval in what was his 187th and final match in charge of Les Bleus.

The response was almost immediate.

Kylian Mbappe struck in the 48th minute to give France a glimmer of hope. Six minutes later, Bradley Barcola scored again, suddenly cutting what had looked like an unassailable four-goal deficit in half.

England, so dominant before the break, now found themselves on the defensive.

The pressure intensified when Mbappe scored his second in the 66th minute. In barely 20 minutes, France had transformed a 4-0 rout into a 4-3 thriller, leaving the Three Lions desperately trying to halt the momentum.

Mbappe surpasses Messi with historic World Cup goal

Mbappe’s second strike carried significance far beyond the third-place playoff.

The goal took the French forward to 22 World Cup goals, moving him past Lionel Messi’s tally of 21 and making him the tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer.

It was another landmark in Mbappe’s extraordinary World Cup career, but the personal milestone ultimately came on a night when France fell just short of completing a remarkable comeback.

England still had one decisive response left.

Saka completes hat-trick when England need it most

With France pushing relentlessly for an equaliser, England finally found an escape route on the counter-attack late in the contest.

The break resulted in a penalty in the 87th minute, handing Saka the opportunity to restore England’s cushion.

He made no mistake.

Saka calmly converted from the spot to complete a memorable World Cup hat-trick and move England 5-3 ahead, easing the pressure after France’s stunning second-half revival.

Even then, the scoring was far from finished.

Ousmane Dembele pulled another goal back for France six minutes into stoppage time, setting up one final moment of uncertainty at 5-4.

Two minutes later, however, Jude Bellingham settled matters once and for all.

The midfielder struck in the 98th minute to complete an astonishing 6-4 scoreline and bring one of the tournament’s most extraordinary matches to an emphatic conclusion.

Bronze medal brings England’s campaign to a positive close

England may have fallen short of reaching the World Cup final, but their final appearance of the tournament delivered no shortage of drama.

A blistering four-goal opening half, a Saka hat-trick and the resilience to withstand France’s extraordinary comeback ensured Tuchel’s side left the tournament with the bronze medal.

For France, the match marked the end of an era as Deschamps concluded his long tenure in charge with a defeat, even as Mbappe added another major record to his name.

For England, the night belonged largely to Saka, whose hat-trick proved the difference in a contest that swung wildly from apparent rout to potential comeback and back again.

Kane’s post-match message, meanwhile, captured the mood of a team finally reaching the end of a long World Cup journey: disappointment at missing out on the biggest prize, but satisfaction in signing off with a victory, a medal and a match few will forget.

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