Bukayo Saka brace gives England big World Cup lead vs. France

MIAMI GARDENS FL ― England forward Bukayo Saka is torching France in the third-place game at the World Cup.

Perhaps France didn’t get the memo that defense is not optional, despite the matchup at Hard Rock Stadium not being the one it wanted. In the thid minute of the game, Saka’s teammate Declan Rice zipped the ball into the net to make the score 1-0. Then, at the 18th minute, Ezri Konsa knocked a ball through with a header to make it 2-0.

Unsurprisingly, Saka added another goal to make it 3-0, England, in the 37th minute. France’s goalie was out of position, and after multiple tries to get around him and a nearby defender, Saka finally found the back of the net. Saka’s good fortune continued when he found pay dirt at the 46th minute with another goal.

Saka’s strike put England up 4-0 at halftime.

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All games are being broadcast in the United States on Fox and FS1. Matches will also be broadcast in Spanish throughout the entirety of the World Cup on Telemundo and streaming on Peacock .

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The World Cup becomes a single-elimination tournament once the knockout stage begins. The 32 remaining teams have been placed into a bracket, and the field will halve itself during each ensuing round of the tournament until a winner is crowned.

The lone exception is that the two semifinal losers will play in a third-place game ahead of the World Cup final.

• July 4: France def Paraguay – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
• July 4: Morocco def Canada – Houston
• July 5: Norway def Brazil – East Rutherford
• July 5: England def Mexico – Mexico City
• July 6: Spain def Portugal – Arlington
• July 6: Belgium def USA – Seattle
• July 7: Argentina def Egypt – Atlanta
• July 7: Switzerland def Colombia – Vancouver

• July 9: France def Morocco – Foxborough
• July 10: Spain def Belgium – Inglewood
• July 11: England def England – Miami
• July 11: Argentina def Switzerland – Kansas City

• July 14: France vs. Spain  – Arlington
• July 15: England vs. Argentina – Atlanta

• July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bukayo Saka brace gives England big World Cup lead vs. France