Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka delivered a dazzling performance during England’s 6-4 win over France in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday.
The Three Lions had a disappointing exit at the semi-final stage. They were 1-0 ahead until the 84th minute before Argentina’s fabulous turnaround.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel went overly defensive and was heavily criticised for his decision to leave Saka unused on the bench for tactical reasons.
Saka showed exactly what his country missed yesterday. He delivered a top-notch performance with a second career hat-trick, and the first for England in a knockout World Cup game since 1966.
The 24-year-old was initially denied a goal for offside, but he continued to dazzle in the final third and eventually capitalised on some comical defending to score his first (3-0) in the 37th minute.
Eberechi Eze delivered a fantastic through-ball for Saka to score his second before the interval.
England went into the break with a convincing 4-0 scoreline, but France were undoubtedly the dominant side after the break. They reduced the deficit to just one (4-3) before Saka’s late penalty goal.
Ousmane Dembele made it 5-4 deep into stoppage time, but Jude Bellingham put the game beyond Les Bleus’ reach after being put through on goal. He showed brilliant composure to score.
Shortly after the game, the English media were undoubtedly impressed by Saka. He received a common 9/10 rating across different outlets. Here is what they wrote after the World Cup classic.
“This was Saka more like his usual self! Electric first half, was rewarded with a hat-trick” – Mirror.
“Scored a disallowed first goal and then made up for the fact it didn’t count by scoring three more, including a nerveless late penalty that made sure of victory.” – Standard Sport.
“OK, France were terrible in the first half, but still, where has this Bukayo Saka been all tournament? Looked sharp as he struck his second hat-trick for his country, coolly tucking away a cool penalty to complete his treble.” – The Sun
“England’s goal-laden display and Saka’s performance will only add further frustration and regret over Wednesday’s semi-final loss to Argentina, where the Arsenal winger was an unused substitute.” – Sky Sports.
Saka had an injury-plagued 2025/26 season with the Gunners. Despite this, he was among the standout performers, scoring 11 goals and providing nine assists from 49 appearances.
Right from the start of the World Cup, England manager Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that he would be managing Saka’s minutes, but his absence against Argentina is one to be criticised.
From Arsenal’s point of view, they will be pleased with the reduced workload for Saka this summer. The Gunners star looked back to his very best during the third-place play-off against France.
He is now due a three-week break away from the game before reporting for the new Premier League season. Arsenal start their title defence against newly-promoted Coventry City on August 21.
Stats from Transfermarkt