Bukayo Saka hails World Cup hat-trick as special achievement

MIAMI: Bukayo Saka expressed immense pride after scoring a memorable hat-trick to inspire England to a thrilling 6-4 victory over France in the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place play-off, describing the achievement as a place among an elite group of England players.

Saka's treble helped England secure third place their best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966 after an entertaining contest at Miami Stadium in Florida on Saturday.

Speaking after the match, the 24-year-old Arsenal forward reflected on his historic performance.

“That was fantastic. It was enjoyable and an amazing achievement of course. I’ve just been told there's only four players for England that scored World Cup hat-tricks, and you know who those players are as well. That is an elite list to be part of. It makes me very proud.”

Despite the convincing victory, Saka admitted England were still disappointed not to have reached the World Cup final.

“I think it was more about finishing the tournament strong because as a group that's what we deserve. Obviously we believe as a whole we should have gone all the way and that we should be playing tomorrow, not today,” Saka said.

“But the reality is that we were playing today and we just wanted to finish strong. I’m happy we’ve done that.”

England stormed into a four-goal lead before France launched a spirited fightback to narrow the deficit.

However, Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot late in the match before Jude Bellingham sealed the entertaining 6-4 victory with England's sixth goal.