BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

England ended a 60-year wait for a FIFA World Cup podium finish in spectacular fashion on Saturday, defeating France 6-4 in one of the highest-scoring matches in the tournament’s history to secure third place.

The 10-goal thriller was the highest-scoring World Cup match since Hungary’s 10-1 demolition of El Salvador at Spain 1982 and the highest-scoring third-place playoff since France defeated West Germany 6-3 at the 1958 World Cup.

Bukayo Saka stole the show with a brilliant hat-trick, while Jude Bellingham capped another outstanding tournament by scoring his seventh goal to become England’s highest-scoring player in a single World Cup campaign.

The result also earned England their first World Cup podium finish since winning the 1966 tournament on home soil.

England blitzed France with four first-half goals, exposing a shaky French defence from the opening whistle. Declan Rice opened the scoring before defender Ezri Konsa doubled the advantage. Saka then struck twice before halftime as England raced into a commanding lead.

France, however, refused to surrender.

Captain Kylian Mbappe pulled one back before Bradley Barcola added another after the break to revive French hopes. Mbappe struck again later in the contest, taking his tally to an astonishing 10 goals at the 2026 World Cup and strengthening his grip on the Golden Boot race.

The brace also saw the French captain move to 22 career World Cup goals, lifting him one clear of Argentina captain Lionel Messi on the competition’s all-time scoring list ahead of Sunday’s final against Spain.

France’s second-half revival came after coach Didier Deschamps reshuffled his struggling defence, introducing Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Digne in an attempt to steady a backline that had looked disorganised throughout the opening period.

England, however, always had another response.

Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 87th minute to restore England’s cushion before Ousmane Dembele scored France’s fourth deep into stoppage time.

There was still time for Bellingham to have the final word, firing home England’s sixth goal to seal an unforgettable victory and write his name into the nation’s football history books with seven goals in a single World Cup.

France winger Michael Olise also etched his name into tournament folklore by registering his seventh assist of the competition, surpassing Pelé’s long-standing World Cup record of six assists set during Brazil’s triumphant 1970 campaign.

Despite the defeat, Mbappe’s remarkable tournament leaves him firmly in pole position for the Golden Boot, holding a two-goal advantage over Messi heading into Sunday’s World Cup final.

The match also marked the end of an era for France as Didier Deschamps took charge of Les Bleus for the final time. The 57-year-old bows out after 14 years at the helm and 185 matches, having guided France to World Cup glory in 2018, another final appearance in 2022, and another podium finish in 2026.

For England, the emphatic victory provided a fitting conclusion to an impressive campaign, with Thomas Tuchel’s side leaving the tournament with their best World Cup finish in six decades and a new generation led by Saka and Bellingham firmly established among the world’s elite.

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK

The FIFA World Cup 2026 could generate up to US$20 billion in economic impact for the United States, according to Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan, who says the tournament has delivered a major boost to spending in host cities across North America.

Speaking to CBS News in an interview with Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final, Moynihan said the month-long tournament has stimulated consumer spending well beyond the stadiums, benefiting restaurants, bars, hotels and local businesses in host communities.

“The total economic activity generated around FIFA is close to US$40 billion, with about US$20 billion of that occurring in the United States,” Moynihan said, noting that host cities have consistently outperformed non-host cities in consumer spending during the tournament.

He pointed to cities such as Kansas City as examples where spending and economic growth accelerated faster than elsewhere as hundreds of thousands of football fans flocked to matches and fan festivals.

Bank of America, one of FIFA’s global partners, has been tracking consumer spending throughout the tournament using anonymised credit and debit card data.

The bank’s research has shown that all 11 U.S. host cities experienced year-on-year increases in spending, with the biggest gains driven by visitors from outside the host regions.

According to the bank, spending by non-local visitors rose significantly during the World Cup, reflecting increased tourism and higher expenditure on hospitality, entertainment and retail.

Moynihan also dismissed pre-tournament concerns over ticket demand, noting the extraordinary global appetite for the competition.

“There were about 500 million ticket requests, demonstrating the enormous worldwide interest in the tournament,” he said.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, has been the largest edition in the tournament’s history, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches.

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The World Cup left stadiums packed and millions of fans euphoric in Mexico, but failed to lift a sluggish economy weighed down ​by weak investment and uncertainty over the upcoming review of the North ‌American trade agreement (USMCA).

The tournament, which ends Sunday after more than a month of matches across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, had Mexico host 13 of 104 games. However, it fell short ​of ambitious official tourism targets aimed at boosting gross domestic product (GDP), which contracted ​in the first quarter.

“The World Cup will not structurally change the ⁠trajectory of the Mexican economy,” said Humberto Calzada, chief economist at Rankia.

Calzada noted the ​tournament offers only a short-term stimulus for an economy the government expects to grow ​between 1.8% and 2.8% this year, compared to analysts’ forecasts of 1.1%.

The economic impact was highly localised. Banorte lowered its estimate of the World Cup’s GDP contribution to 0.4%-0.5%, down from a previous ​forecast of up to 0.62%.

Banamex calculated the total economic impact at $2 billion — about 0.1% ​of GDP and less than half of the $5.6 billion Mexico received in remittances in May alone.

Deloitte ‌projected ⁠the competition created 100,000 temporary jobs, 10% fewer than its previous estimate. Meanwhile, BBVA reported its household consumption indicator fell 0.2% month-on-month in June, with spending on hotels down 10.5% and restaurants down 4.9%, despite a 16.5% spike in entertainment.

The benefits were uneven ​across the host cities ​of Mexico City, ⁠Guadalajara, and Monterrey. The Mexican Restaurant Association reported that half of its establishments performed worse than in a typical week due ​to low hotel occupancy and local protests in the capital.

Air travel ​data was ⁠also mixed. Passenger traffic rose slightly in June in Guadalajara and Monterrey but fell at Mexico City’s main airport.

Analysts say the main driver of the Mexican economy remains outside ⁠the stadiums: ​trade certainty under the USMCA.

With companies holding back ​investment ahead of the trade pact’s review, and the economy contracting 0.6% in the first quarter, the IMF ​recently trimmed Mexico’s growth forecast to 1.2% from 1.6%.

-Reuters

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