England beat France 6-4 as followers rage at Thomas Tuchel determination in ‘Soccer Aid’ World Cup win
At the start of the night, no one cared about the meaningless third-place play-off, but by the end of the clash the world was immersed.
Thomas Tuchel’s side stepped out in Miami to play their final World Cup game in the third-place play-off – a redundant game that France, evidently, wanted to play even less than England. The Three Lions raced into an incredible 4-0 lead at half-time, but a French fightback in the second half saw England have to edge over the line in an utterly farcical 6-4 win to claim third place and England’s best finish at a World Cup since 1966.
Both sides made changes, but Tuchel’s alterations were grander as both Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were benched, ending their outside chances of overturning a two-goal difference to Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to win the Golden Boot.
Thomas Tuchel has been criticised for his tactics in England’s semi-final defeat to Argentina(Image: Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)
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It looked as though the two England talismen wouldn’t have had a chance at clinching the top scorer award, but they might well have had the perfect opportunity if they started.
Tuchel was booed before kick-off by furious England fans over the gutless way they collapsed late on against Argentina. After not creating a single chance in the last 30 minutes in the semi-final, Tuchel decided to take the anchor off and England steamrolled a lazy France side.
Declan Rice scored before setting up Ezri Konsa from a corner as a late Bukayo Saka brace at the end of the first-half had England unbelievably 4-0 up.
Bukayo Saka showed how much England missed him this tournament
At the break, the emotion inside the camp was summed up when assistant manager Anthony Barry had to hold back tears in an emotional half-time interview when he spoke of how proud he was of the players.
But all that praise was at risk of being embarrassingly outdone as France threw on four subs at half-time and scored three minutes after the restart through Mbappe. Six minutes later, Bradley Barcola made it 4-2.
It was inconceivable to think England could go 4-0 up at half-time, but impossible for them to then blow that lead, but it became a real possibility when Mbappe got on the scoresheet again to make it 4-3 in the 66th minute.
The camera panned to show Tuchel scratching his neck in an incredibly concerned and flustered fashion while Barry’s tears had certainly dried and his mood brutally sobered.
France fought back in the second half(Image: Getty Images)
France were all over England, pushing for the most implausible equaliser. If you didn’t laugh you would cry. It was a game that was played like Soccer Aid but with the brilliance of a Champions League final.
Just as Les Bleus closed in on a fourth, England went down the other end where Bellingham wasted the chance to again put the game beyond the French but again Deschamps’ side raced forward on the counter and somehow didn’t level the game when Olise missed the target from 12 yards.
That would be France’s final chance at pulling off the most remarkable comeback as Saka wrapped up his hat-trick from the spot after Djed Spence capped off a brilliant World Cup campaign by winning a penalty having been brought down by Malo Gusto.
Jude Bellingham rounded off the game with his seventh goal of the tournament(Image: Getty Images)
Tuchel’s decision not to even call upon Saka against Argentina now looks just as bad as his decision to park the bus as the Arsenal star showed his fitness never looked in doubt.
In his post-match interview, Saka was asked whether he wishes he played a bigger part in the tournament after injury problems, but he moved to rubbish those fitness fears, seemingly suggesting he was ready to play but was never called on.
“Of course, I would loved to have played more, but it’s too late to talk about that, I just try to do my talking on the pitch, it’s done now, let’s move on,” Saka said before adding on his fitness: “I’m fit, I’m fit.”
With one minute left on the clock, Ousmane Dembele fired in a ninth goal of the game, but ultimately just a consolation as Bellingham scored a goal like something out of a school playground by rounding France defenders and smashed the ball home from six yards.
The game could have finished at any scoreline. 10 goals just simply didn’t feel enough with the amount of opportunities created by both teams. Fair play to both teams for putting on an unforgettable spectacle.
