‘I would have loved to’ – Saka reflects on his role at this World Cup after scoring hat-trick against France

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18 July 2026

Bukayo Saka says he felt he could have played more at this

World Cup

after scoring a superb hat-trick to give

England

victory over

France

in the bronze medal game.

England beat their rivals 6-4

in a thrilling end-to-end game to secure third place at the tournament.

“It was a crazy game,” Saka told BBC Sport afterwards. “Obviously we’re both still quite disappointed not to be in the final but it was about finishing strong and giving the country the best position in the

for about 60 years.”

Saka did not feature at all in the semi-final defeat to Argentina, and asked if he felt as though he could have played a bigger role at the competition, he said: “Of course I would loved to have played more but it’s too late to talk about that.

“I just try to do my talking on the pitch and it’s done now so let’s move on.”

Saka admits he and his team-mates leave the USA disappointed, but says there are still a lot of positives to take from their

campaign.

“We built and built across the tournament, we had some amazing results and in the end we fell short against Argentina,” he said.

“It hurts a lot for all of us and I’m sure it’s the same for the fans back home but we have to move on and hold our heads high.”

England player ratings vs France: Bukayo Saka brilliance as Djed Spence delivers again

Evening Standard

Saka scores superb hat-trick as England clinch third spot at World Cup with thrilling win over France

France 4-6 England: Saka outshines record-breaking Mbappe in thrilling third-place play-off

Football Today

France 4-6 England: Saka scores hat-trick as Three Lions win epic World Cup bronze final

FromTheSpot

Saka starts for England vs France after sitting out semi-final

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