England players praised for move moments after receiving World Cup bronze medal

The World Cup may have ended in yet more broken hearts but England at least managed to warm them back up again on Saturday. If only a little.

In what is usually a dull hindrance nobody wants to play in, England and France brought the World Cup's third-place play-off to life on Saturday with an astonishing game that ended 6-4 to the Three Lions.

England earned the bronze medals for their highest World Cup finish since winning the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966 and the squad went onto a podium to receive them after full-time.

Several of Thomas Tuchel's players then began beckoning Jason Steele to join them and receive a medal as well.

The 35-year-old Brighton goalkeeper was not in the 26-man squad but has accompanied the team across North America as a stand-by training goalkeeper.

In a video shared by the BBC, Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers can be seen calling for Steele, who was then welcomed by his teammates as Jordan Henderson placed the medal around his neck.

Steele appeared delighted with the recognition from his teammates and the moment has received praise on social media.

"Class act lads... Happy for Steele," one person wrote on X, accompanied by a clapping emoji.

Another echoed: "A classy moment from the England squad.

"Making sure Jason Steele received his bronze medal shows the unity and togetherness that defined their World Cup campaign. Team spirit at its best."

Another added: "What a group of lads," while one poster said: "That video of the England team making sure Jason Steele also gets a medal had me crying so quickly."

The England squad make sure goalkeeper Jason Steele comes to collect his bronze medal 🥉🤝 pic.twitter.com/u8E7JVF9cE

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 19, 2026

England end World Cup with bonkers win over France

Tuchel wasn't excited about the prospect of the third-place play-off game, saying in his pre-match press conference: "None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match.

"They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that."

Yet, it turned out to be the most bonkers game of the tournament, even if that was helped by there being little to play for other than pride and slightly more prize money.

England needed a response after their defensive retreat against Argentina, though, and got one when Declan Rice opened the scoring after just two minutes.

In a first-half display that had fans wondering what could have been, the Three Lions roared into a four-goal lead by half-time, with Ezri Konsa nodding in and Bukayo Saka grabbing a brace.

France came out firing after the break and clawed the score back to 4-3 through Kylian Mbappé twice and Bradley Barcola.

An equaliser felt inevitable before Djed Spence was brought down in the box and Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

But there were yet even more goals to come, as Ousmane Dembélé struck in added time before Bellingham grabbed his seventh goal of the tournament with a pulsating solo strike two minutes later.

It's the first time England have finished third in a World Cup after losing at the stage to Italy in 1990 and Belgium in 2018.

As a result, England have pocketed some extra prize money and will take home £21.5m, while France have won £20m for finishing fourth.