United News of Bangladesh

Bukayo Saka struck a hat trick as England defeated France 6-4 in a thrilling FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Sunday, capping one of the highest-scoring matches in tournament history. Saka scored twice before halftime and completed his hat trick with a late penalty as England raced to a commanding 4-0 lead before surviving a spirited French comeback to secure third place. Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa also found the net in the opening half, while Jude Bellingham added England's sixth goal deep into stoppage time to seal the victory. France mounted an impressive second-half fightback through Kylian Mbappe, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Demele. Mbappe scored twice to cut the deficit to 4-3 before England restored its cushion with Saka's penalty and Bellingham's late strike. The 10-goal contest was the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary defeated El Salvador 10-1 in 1982 and featured the most goals ever scored in a World Cup third-place playoff. England coach Thomas Tuchel described the tournament as a success despite the team's semifinal defeat to Argentina, where the Three Lions surrendered a 1-0 lead before losing 2-1. "We are fiercely competitive, so it is difficult to celebrate finishing third because our ambition was to reach the final and win the World Cup," Tuchel said. "But this result can help us move closer to the level of teams like Argentina and France." Bellingham's stoppage-time strike took his tournament tally to seven goals, setting a new record for the most goals scored by an England player in a single World Cup. Captain Harry Kane netted six goals in both the 2026 and 2018 tournaments, matching Gary Lineker's tally from the 1986 World Cup. Mbappe's two goals also saw him surpass Lionel Messi's all-time World Cup scoring record, taking his career total to 22 goals. The France captain has scored 10 goals in this tournament, putting him two clear of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Messi, who has 21 World Cup goals overall and eight in this tournament, will have one final opportunity to reduce the gap when defending champions Argentina face Spain in early Monday's final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Speaking after the match, Mbappe said he expected Messi to score in the final but admitted he would rather have been playing for the trophy than leading the scoring charts. "I always try to help my team score. Of course, scoring so many World Cup goals is special, but I would have preferred to be playing in tomorrow's final," he said. The match also marked the end of Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure as France coach. After the final whistle, Deschamps embraced his players and acknowledged supporters before leaving the field. Reflecting on the defeat, he said France had been deeply disappointed by its semifinal exit and admitted his side had struggled badly in the first half before improving after the break. However, he said he did not want his coaching career to be judged solely on the team's final two matches.

Morocco’s fans in the Arab world took the North African team’s 2-1 loss to Croatia in Saturday’s World Cup third-place playoff philosophically. The team had already made history, becoming the first Arab and first African team to reach the semifinals in the international soccer tournament. Its loss to France on Wednesday dashed fans' hopes that Morocco would become an underdog champion, but many had hoped that it would at least take third place in facing off against Croatia. Read more: Croatia beats Morocco 2-1 to take 3rd place at World Cup In the Moroccan capital, national team's fans were disappointed by Saturday's loss, but pointed with pride to the team’s historic performance. “They remain champions in our eyes,” said Soukaina Makkaoui, a fan in Rabat. “They are now among the four top teams in the world.” Ali Hachimi, another Moroccan fan, was both proud and sad. “We would have liked to finish third because the players deserved it after giving their all,” he said. Along the way, the Moroccan team charmed many Arab soccer fans who saw in the team a reflection of themselves, with players waving the Palestinian flag after their wins and celebrating on the field with their mothers and children. Read more: Morocco look to the future after World Cup dream ends Seeing Palestinian flags fluttering in the stadium “was an indescribable feeling,” said Ibrahim al-Lilli, who was among thousands of fans in the Gaza Strip who gathered to cheer for Morocco on Saturday. The games affirmed that the Arab street “supports the Palestinian cause regardless of what their governments do,” he said, referring to the Abraham Accord normalization agreements that four Arab countries — including Morocco — signed with Israel in 2020. Fans in the besieged Gaza enclave found a bitter solace in the fact that the northern Africa Arab country got as far as it did. “It’s a defeat, albeit with a taste of victory and joy,” said Ahmed al-Najjar, another fan in Gaza. In Beirut's Tarik al-Jdideh neighborhood, where fans were also rooting for Morocco, Muhammad Shaalan said the team's fourth-place finish is still a point of pride for the Arab world. “They arrived to the final games and they defeated three of the best big European teams (Belgium, Spain and Portugal)," he said. “I bow my head in respect to them as an Arab team."