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Starboy to legend: Saka joins list of England hat-trick heroes in World Cup
19th July, 2026 09:53 AM
Winger Bukayo Saka has expressed immense pride after writing his name into England’s football history with a sensational hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place match against France on Sunday, July 19, 2026.
Although England fell short of their ambition of reaching the final, the victory over France secured the Three Lions their best World Cup finish since lifting the trophy in 1966.
Saka dazzles
Saka’s outstanding display in Miami placed him among an exclusive group of England players to score a World Cup hat-trick. The Arsenal winger became only the fourth English footballer to achieve the feat, following Geoff Hurst in 1966, Gary Lineker in 1986 and Harry Kane at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
The 24-year-old also reached another notable milestone by becoming just the third England player, after Lineker and Kane, to score at least three goals across two separate World Cup tournaments.
Reflecting on his memorable performance after the match, Saka said: “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.”
While England had hoped to be playing in the World Cup final, Saka insisted the team was determined to finish the competition on a positive note after missing out on Sunday’s showpiece.
“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. But the reality is that we were playing today and we just wanted to finish strong. I’m happy we’ve done that.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel made several alterations to his starting lineup for the bronze medal clash, and the changes paid off as his side delivered an impressive attacking display. Their 20 goals at the tournament saw England finish level with France as the highest-scoring team of the competition.
Tuchel’s message
Saka also revealed the message Tuchel shared with the squad after the final whistle, highlighting the strong bond that developed during their weeks together.
“He just told us how proud he is of us and that he’s going to miss us. We’re going to miss each other. You know, the six, seven weeks we bonded like crazy. That was the message and we leave with a proud feeling of what we’ve done today as a team, and we’ll focus on winning next time.”
Although England’s World Cup journey ended with bronze rather than gold, Saka’s historic hat-trick ensured the tournament concluded on a memorable note and added his name to one of the country’s most exclusive World Cup records.
