424. The Bronze

England defeated France 6-4 last night in the World Cup third-place match, which is the game played by the two teams who lost in the semifinals. It is not the final. The participants receive bronze medals.

Ten goals were scored, which is the most goals in any World Cup match in history. The record was set in a match neither team was trying particularly hard to win.

(The third-place match is, by general consensus, an obligation. Teams that have just lost a semifinal are not typically in an optimal emotional state for high-scoring attacking play. England and France scored ten goals in this state. It has been noted.)

Jude Bellingham scored England's sixth goal. Harry Kane scored. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick. On the France side, Kylian Mbappé scored his 21st and 22nd World Cup goals, becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, surpassing Lionel Messi, who holds 21.

Messi plays the final tonight.

(Mbappé broke Messi's record in the third-place match. He finished fourth. He is now the greatest World Cup goalscorer in history as measured by number of goals scored. France scored four goals and lost. These are all consistent facts. They exist at the same time.)

France's manager, after the match, noted that his team had shown character. He did not address the record specifically. Mbappé has stated that the record is meaningful to him. England's manager thanked the fans.

The bronze medals were presented. England received them. France received them. Mbappé received his bronze medal and also the record. Messi plays tonight. The final score of the most-goals World Cup match in history was 6-4, in favor of the third-place team, which is also not the first-place team.