Declan Rice scored inside three minutes, then spent the next 90 watching his team almost throw away a four-goal lead. England’s captain was seen with a face like thunder at full time, slumped to the ground in Miami, still seething from the semi-final defeat to Argentina and furious at how close his side came to another collapse.
The third-place play-off is often an unloved fixture, but this one descended into chaos. Rice’s early goal—a fine strike—set the tone, but it was the starting gun for a bonkers match. Ezri Konsa headed in Rice’s corner to double the lead, then Bukayo Saka scored a quick-fire brace to put England 4-0 up before half-time.
“Declan Rice's rage on full display after England's chaotic 6-4 World Cup win over France.”
France’s manager Didier Deschamps made four changes at the break, and the impact was instant. Kylian Mbappe scored within three minutes of the restart, then Bradley Barcola—one of the substitutes—sliced the lead in half six minutes later. Mbappe added his second on 66 minutes to make it 4-3. England were wobbling.
Elliot Anderson and Jude Bellingham came on to steady the ship. Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Djed Spence was brought down, but still the French pushed. Ousmane Dembele found the net in the 96th minute, raising fears of another lead slipping away. Bellingham then sealed the result with a counter-attack, essentially dribbling through the whole defence.
The 6-4 win ensured England’s best World Cup performance since 1966, but for Rice, that was little consolation. He walked around the pitch with the same grim expression, weighed down by the disappointment of Wednesday night and the frustration of almost throwing the match away. The clip of his reaction showed a captain whose standards demand more than a bronze medal.