England have held off a remarkable French comeback to win the World Cup third-place playoff 6-4 and securing their best finish at the tournament in 60 years.England led 4-0 at half-time after a stunning opening 45 minutes that included a Bukayo Saka double and the Three Lions' second-fastest goal in World Cup history by Declan Rice. But France mounted an extraordinary second-half fightback at Miami Stadium, scoring three goals in 18 minutes to cut the deficit to one. Kylian Mbappé scored twice, becoming the highest goalscorer in World Cup history and moving ahead of Argentina's Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.Both sides made sweeping changes to the line-ups that lost to Argentina and Spain in the semi-finals, with England coach Thomas Tuchel's decision to rest captain Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham paying off as his fringe players seized their opportunity in the opening half.News that makes senseYour trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.Stand-in captain Rice opened the scoring after just three minutes, intercepting a sloppy pass from Désiré Doué before firing home from outside the box. It was England's second-fastest goal in World Cup history.Ezri Konsa doubled England's lead with a glancing header from a corner delivered by Rice in the 18th minute. Saka, who had a goal ruled out for offside in the 12th minute, struck twice before the break. He netted from close range in the 37th minute before adding his second in first-half stoppage time to give England a stunning 4-0 lead at the interval.France finally found a response three minutes into the second half when star forward Mbappé finished from close range.Bradley Barcola then reduced the deficit to two in the 54th minute, hammering the ball past England goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who started in place of Jordan Pickford.Mbappé's second goal in the 66th minute made him the outright leading scorer in World Cup history with 22 goals and moved him ahead of Messi in the Golden Boot standings. Messi will have the chance to reclaim the lead in Monday morning's final against Spain.Saka completed his hat-trick with an 87th-minute penalty after Djed Spence was fouled in the box, restoring England's two-goal cushion.France struck again in the sixth minute of stoppage time through Ousmane Dembélé to make it 5-4, but substitute Jude Bellingham sealed the result moments later as England prevailed in a 10-goal thriller.The third-place result is England's best finish at a World Cup since their first and only title win in 1966. It was a disappointing ending for French coach Didier Deschamps, for whom it was his final match after 14 years in charge. The match was the 33rd meeting between the two sides, with the last fixture at the 2022 World Cup quarter-final, which France won 2-1. You can watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ live, free and exclusive on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.