Saka’s hat trick lifts England past Mbappé and France 6-4 in wild World Cup third-place game

MIAMI GARDENS: (Jul 19) (AP) Bukayo Saka scored three goals to lead England to a 6-4 win over France for third place in the World Cup, while Kylian Mbappé surpassed Lionel Messi’s career World Cup scoring record and took the lead in the Golden Boot race with a pair of second-half goals on Saturday.

It was the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982, and the 10 goals were the most in a third-place match.

Saka had goals in the 37th minute and first-half stoppage time, then added his third on a penalty in the 87th for his second career hat trick with England. The Three Lions also got goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa to build a 4-0 halftime lead and secure their best finish in a World Cup since winning their only title in 1966.