Mbappé makes history but England beat France in Deschamps' farewell
· Yahoo Sports
Kylian Mbappé became the leading goalscorer in World Cup history but his France team said farewell to coach Didier Deschamps with a 6-4 defeat to England in the World Cup match for third place on Saturday.
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England completely overpowered France in the first half to build a 4-0 lead.
Declan Rice was on target with just three minutes into the match and Ezri Konsa added a second in the 18th minute, while Bukayo Saka scored a brace before half-time.
But things drastically changed after the break. Mbappé pulled one back for the France side in the 48th and Bradley Barcola's goal in the 54th added pressure on England.
Mbappé then made history and became the player with most goals at World Cups, with 22, with his strike in the 66th.
He's now one goal ahead of Argentina's Lionel Messi, who plays for the title on Sunday against Spain.
Despite Mbappé's historic goal and the great fighting spirit, France couldn't complete a comeback as England fired back in the thrilling final stages of the match.
Saka scored a penalty in the 87th to crown his evening with a hat-trick, before Ousmane Dembélé again shortened the French deficit in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
But England had a quick answer and substitute Jude Bellingham sealed their best-ever World Cup finish since they won the title in 1966.
"We had a brilliant first half and then a turbulent second half," England coach Thomas Tuchel told BBC.
"We are so, so tired and drained from the last weeks. So a massive compliment and full respect - the mentality that we showed. Going through all the adversity is absolutely brilliant."
Deschamps will step down following 14 years in charge of France after the World Cup, having led the team to the title in 2018 and into the final in 2022.
A third straight final was denied him when Les Bleus lost 2-0 against Spain. England, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by title holders Argentina in the semi-finals.
Furious England controls first half
Despite leaving Harry Kane and Bellingham on the bench, the English team didn't wait too long to get down to business and took advantage of a poor pass from Désiré Doué to break the deadlock. Rice charged toward the French box and unleashed a rocket into the net in the third minute.
Saka thought he got his first in the 11th, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Instead, it was Konsa who doubled England's lead in the 18th.
Rice whipped the ball from a corner in the middle and Konsa rose highest to flick it into the goal.
Saka finally got his in the 37th in a hard-fought play. He was initially denied by Mike Maignan, but eventually scored from a follow-up thnks to Marcus Rashford's assist.
Saka scored his second shortly before the break, after being served by Eberechi Eze.
French revival and historic Mbappé
Deschamps made several changes to his team during half-time and brought on Dembélé, Lucas Digne, Barcola and Dayot Upamecano.
And the fresh legs had a huge impact as France were a completely different team in the second half.
Mbappé pulled one back in the 48th after Ollie Watkins lost the ball on the halfway line and France countered. Michael Olise the slipped the ball to Mbappé, who found the bottom corner from the penalty spot.
Mbappé was the assist provider in the 54th and found Barcola in the box, who hammered the ball past goalkeeper Dean Henderson to make it 4-2.
Henderson made an incredible save to deny Dembélé in the 57th, but couldn't do anything to deny the goal that made Mbappé the all-time World Cup top scorer.
The Real Madrid star played some one-twos with Olise before slotting the ball into the bottom corner. He will now hope Messi doesn't find the net against Spain on Sunday.
France were in prime position to force a draw, but Malo Gusto brought down Djed Spence inside the box and England were awarded a penalty, converted by Saka in the 87th.
The French didn't give up and Dembélé got one to his name in stoppage time. But England once more dampened Les Bleus' hopes as Bellingham beat Maxence Lacroix and slammed a shot into the goal.
"Eight years ago they (France) were the champions. Four years ago they were in the final. There is a slight gap, but no problem. We want to close it," Tuchel said.
"I said yesterday today is the first step to closing it. We did it. We beat them. The next one will be Spain in the Nations League."