Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick as England defeated France 6-4 in a dramatic FIFA World Cup third-place playoff in Miami on Saturday, securing their best finish at the tournament since winning the title in 1966. England survived a spirited second-half comeback from France after leading 4-0 at the break. Saka struck twice in the first half before completing his hat-trick from the penalty spot three minutes from time to restore England's two-goal cushion at 5-3. Ousmane Dembele scored again for France, but substitute Jude Bellingham sealed the result deep into stoppage time with his seventh goal of the tournament, the highest tally by an England player at a single World Cup. England manager Thomas Tuchel praised his team's effort despite a difficult second half. "We had a brilliant first half and then a turbulent second half," Tuchel said. "We are so, so tired and drained from the last weeks. I have said it before, this team has created something very special, and they showed it again." The 10-goal contest became the highest-scoring third-place playoff in World Cup history, surpassing France's 6-3 win over West Germany in 1958. Mbappe sets World Cup scoring record despite France defeat France mounted a remarkable comeback after halftime, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice to finish the tournament on 10 goals. His tally moved him two clear of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race and made him the all-time leading World Cup scorer with 22 goals. France, playing the final match under outgoing coach Didier Deschamps, cut England's four-goal lead to a single goal but could not complete the comeback. Reflecting on France's performance, Mbappe admitted the team had been outplayed in the opening half. "In the first half, I can understand those who say we didn't respect the shirt," Mbappe said. "I would say instead that we were human. Unfortunately, we were completely stunned. They gave us a proper wake-up call." "In the second half, we became top-level players again, mental machines who no longer have feelings." Messi, 39, will have an opportunity to add to his own World Cup scoring tally when Argentina face Spain in Sunday's final at New York New Jersey Stadium. England dominate first half with four unanswered goals With both teams making changes for the third-place playoff, including France fielding a reshuffled defence, England made an aggressive start after criticism of their cautious display in the semi-final defeat to Argentina. Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute before providing the corner from which Ezri Konsa headed in England's second in the 18th minute. England continued to expose the French defence with direct passing, and Saka capitalised by scoring in the 37th minute before adding his second just before halftime to give England a commanding 4-0 lead. France rally after break but England hold firm Deschamps introduced Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Digne at halftime in an attempt to strengthen the defence, and France responded immediately. Mbappe scored three minutes into the second half before Bradley Barcola added another in the 54th minute. Mbappe struck again in the 66th minute from a Michael Olise assist to reduce the deficit to 4-3. England responded through Saka's penalty in the 87th minute to ease the pressure. Although Dembele scored to keep France's hopes alive, Bellingham's stoppage-time goal secured England's first third-place finish after losing the playoff matches in 1990 and 2018. Mbappe said the defeat was especially disappointing because the team had hoped to give Deschamps a winning farewell. "It's more disappointing for the coach," Mbappe said. "We wanted to do something for him, but unfortunately the first half gave the impression that we had let him down." "We want to thank the coach for everything he has done. This match will not tarnish the legend of Didier Deschamps."