Saka hat-trick seals bronze for England with win over France in World Cup third-place playoff

The match nobody wanted to play in became the match nobody wanted to end. England’s ‘bronze final’ – formerly known as the third-place play-off – against France descended into chaos with 10 goals, six of them for the Three Lions. And there could easily have been more. And it means England achieved their highest men’s World Cup finish since winning the tournament in 1966 – and their best-ever result on foreign soil.

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Gallant Ghana shutout England to earn famous point

Thomas Tuchel’s stilted side stumbled to a scoreless draw with well-drilled Ghana as England edged closer to the World Cup knockout phase in forgettable fashion. Six days on from the thrilling 4-2 victory against Croatia in Texas, things fell flat in Foxborough as the back-to-back European Championship runners-up failed to break down the Black Stars.

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Rice bags double as Arsenal fightback to beat Bournemouth

Declan Rice scored twice as Premier League leaders Arsenal came from behind to beat Bournemouth. Gunners centre-back Gabriel played a blind pass across his box to gift Evanilson the opening goal for the Cherries but he made up for that with the equaliser. Rice scored a second half brace but Arsenal had a nervy finish after Eli Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth renewed hope with a fine strike from outside the area.

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Rice rockets Arsenal into commanding lead over Real Madrid

Declan Rice stunned Real Madrid with two brilliant free kicks – the first scored in his career – as Arsenal took a commanding 3-0 first leg lead in their Champions League quarter-final. Mikel Merino made sure it was a memorable night for Arsenal when he curled a shot into the bottom corner from inside the area during a sensational second half spell for Mikel Arteta’s men.

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Rice and Grealish score as England beat Ireland – Nations League

Heimir Hallgrimsson’s reign as Ireland manager started with a defeat as England enjoyed a well-earned 2-0 victory in the UEFA Nations League encounter at Aviva Stadium. A bright start from the home side, but it was the visitors who quickly took control and they made their superiority count in the 11th minute as former Ireland international, Declan Rice, opened the scoring. Jack Grealish added a second in the 26th minute to hand interim England manager Lee Carsley an opening win.

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