Dashed Hopes - Unexpected Victory

Couldn’t not wrap up this football-centric year without a quick look at England’s 2026 World Cup roller-coaster journey. Who’d have predicted the final score of the third-place playoff when England started the 2nd half 4 goals to nil? 

But first, here’s a quick recap of the show so far:
Group L: Winners
17 June: England 4-2 Croatia (Dallas)
The Croatia win was the standout: Harry Kane scored twice, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also on the scoresheet.

23 June: England 0-0 Ghana (Boston)
The Ghana game was a tighter affair, with England held to a goalless draw but staying top of the group.

27 June: Panama 0-2 England (New York)
Jude Bellingham broke a frustrating deadlock to put England ahead after 62 minutes, then crossed for Kane to double their advantage with a close-range header five minutes later. It was the England captain's 11th World Cup goal - taking him one ahead of Gary Lineker, and it put England top of the group.


Knockout stage
1 July – round of 32: England 2-1 DR Congo (Atlanta)
England trailed from the seventh minute, when Brian Cipenga opened the scoring, until the 75th minute when Harry Kane equalised, with the England skipper then blasting a brilliant winner in a dramatic turnaround.

6 July – round of 16: Mexico 2-3 England (Mexico City)
Despite being reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute after Jarell Quansah received a red card, England overcame Mexico’s attempt to reach their first quarter-final in 40 years in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. In a dramatic match at Estadio Azteca, Bellingham scored twice in two minutes, giving England a 2-0 lead, and Mexico pulled one back just before half-time. Harry Kane converted a penalty to restore the two-goal advantage, and Mexico won a penalty nine minutes later. Mexico had strong possession (67%) and created chances, but England’s resilience and defensive organization held firm to secure progression to the quarterfinals.

11 July – quarter-finals: Norway 1-2 England, aet (Miami) Norway seized the initiative from the start with Erling Haaland's header straight at Jordan Pickford, and Schjelderup put Norway ahead in the 36th minute. The Three Lions weathered a wave of pressure before levelling in first-half stoppage time through Bellingham's driving run and cool finish. Harry Kane had the ball in the net moments later, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

15 July – semi-final: England 1-2 Argentina (Atlanta)
This eagerly-awaited revival of one of international football’s great rivalries ended with a repeat of the scoreline in the teams' most famous encounter in Mexico City 40 years ago. One report called the start of the match feisty, cagey and intensely contested, but I thought it was boring with dirty tactics and constant fouling, with the ref only calling a fraction of the Argentinian ones. Very telling that neither side produced an attempt on goal until the 33rd minute, giving a goal-less first half. Ten minutes into the second, Gordon slid a cheeky goal from a Rogers cross followed seconds later by a goal-saving tackle from Spence, stopping Messi in his tracks. The pressure from Argentina was never-ending, and inevitably they scored – 5 minutes before the end, and again, two minutes into add-on time. But most significant was the behaviour of the two teams at the end – few smiles and the handshakes were grudging and few and far between.

18 July – third place play-off: France 4-6 England (Miami)

Chalk and cheese are like identical twins compared to the difference between this match and the last one. Right from the get-go, the interactions were sportsmanlike, the tackles legitimate and the fouling clean (if such a thing is possible) and almost gentlemanly. In the highest scoring third round match ever, Saka gave us a world cup hat-trick including a proper tricksy penalty. Here’s the Fifa report:

France goals: Mbappe (48 & 66), Barcola (54), Ousmane Dembele (90+6)
England goals: Rice (3), Konsa (18), Saka (37, 45+1 & pen 87), Bellingham (90+8)
England overcame France in the ultimate game of two halves in the bronze final of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Bukayo Saka hit a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham finally put an end to a comeback Kylian Mbappe had heroically inspired at Miami Stadium. England annihilated France in the first half. Declan Rice stylishly struck home the opener from outside the box and, after Saka had a goal ruled out for offside, Ezri Kosna made it two. Saka then bagged a quick-fire brace to send Thomas Tuchel’s team in 4-0 up at the break.
Michael Olise’s pass enabled Kylian Mbappe to get them on the board, and the Real Madrid forward set up Bradley Barcola to further decrease the deficit. Mbappe then pulled Les Bleus within one, before Olise came narrowly close to rounding off a breathtaking team move and equalising. The Three Lions were under extreme pressure, but Saka gave them breathing space from the spot after Malo Gusto had tripped Djed Spence. It appeared to finally extinguish the comeback, only for Ousmane Dembele to get France within one again. England’s player of the tournament had the final say, though, Bellingham dribbling past multiple bodies to seal victory in one of the greatest matches the World Cup has ever seen.
It was England’s best finish at the global finals since they triumphed on home soil in 1966.