England secured their best World Cup finish since 1966 with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France in the third-place play-off in Miami. Stand-in captain Declan Rice declared this "the best England group for a very long time" and insisted major tournament success is "close" despite the semi-final collapse against Argentina.

Assistant manager Anthony Barry fought back tears at half-time, describing players with "broken hearts" after the Argentina loss who still produced a proud performance. Manager Thomas Tuchel, despite criticism over his tactics against Argentina, insisted he hasn't lost the squad's trust and aims to close the gap to elite nations ahead of Euro 2028.

Harry Kane called it "one of the best England groups I have ever been a part of," while Bukayo Saka responded to his Argentina omission with a hat-trick against France. Pundits remain divided: Danny Murphy believes Tuchel "failed" and shouldn't keep his job, while Martin Keown praised the "frightening" pace of Saka and Marcus Rashford.