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Madrid World Cup Spotlight: Mbappe finishes his WC in style with brace against England
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is almost at its end, with only the final left after a wild third-place play-off between France and England.
England beat France 6-4 in Miami to finish third, in a game that became the highest-scoring World Cup match since 1982.
It was not the final either team wanted to be playing, but it turned into one of the most entertaining games of the tournament.
France started with Kylian Mbappe and Ibrahima Konate, while England kept Jude Bellingham on the bench before introducing him late.
Both managers rotated heavily, which gave the match a looser, more open feeling than a semi-final or final would have had.
England raced into a 4-0 lead through Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and a Bukayo Saka double, before France responded after half-time.
Mbappe scored twice, Ousmane Dembele also found the net late, but England still had the final word through Bellingham in stoppage time.
From a Real Madrid perspective, Mbappe managed to strengthen his case for the Golden Boot, Bellingham had yet another moment in the sun, but Konate had a difficult night.
Kylian Mbappe vs England
Kylian Mbappe did not end the World Cup with a medal, but he did end it by reminding everyone why he remains the most dangerous forward in the game.
The Real Madrid superstar scored twice in the second half, taking his tournament tally to 10 goals.
This also saw him move to 22 goals on the all-time charts, surpassing Lionel Messi’s 21, although the Argentine will have a chance to respond tomorrow.
That is an extraordinary individual achievement, even if France’s team performance was chaotic.
Mbappe looked determined to drag his side back from an almost impossible position, and for a while, he made the comeback feel possible.
Even in a broken game, even when France were chasing shadows defensively, Mbappe still found a way to score twice and stay central to the story.
The frustration is that it came in defeat, but it does not take away from the stellar World Cup he had.
Ibrahima Konate vs England
Ibrahima Konate had the hardest night of the Madrid trio.
The French defender started in a heavily changed back line, but France were badly exposed in the first half.
Conceding four before the break in any World Cup game is damaging. Doing it in a third-place play-off, with the whole world watching, made it feel even messier.
It would be unfair to place all of that on Konate. France’s midfield protection was poor, England attacked with speed, and the whole defensive structure looked loose.
Still, for a centre-back, this was not a performance to remember kindly.
From a Real Madrid perspective, the concern is not one bad result. It was the fact that their new summer signing looked completely out of sorts last night.
Konate will want to put this one behind him as soon as possible.
Jude Bellingham vs France
Jude Bellingham started on the bench, but still found a way to leave his signature on the game.
The Real Madrid midfielder scored England’s sixth goal in the 98th minute, finishing a counter-attack as France desperately pushed for an equaliser.
It was his seventh goal of the tournament, making him the first Englishman to reach that mark at a World Cup.
That is pure Bellingham. Even in a game that had already turned chaotic, he arrived late, read the moment and finished with the authority of a player who expects to decide matches.
Much like Mbappe, he has had a sensational tournament too and will return to Jose Mourinho’s setup with a lot of confidence.
Real Madrid will lock horns with Elche CF away at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero later tonight in Matchday 6 of the 2026/27 La Liga season.
The Merengues are currently second in the league standings with four wins and one defeat from five games, three points behind Barcelona, who are yet to drop a single point this term, and have looked unstoppable.
Given the situation, Real Madrid know there is no room for slip-up, even though it is still very early in the season.
Jose Mourinho’s men have not been particularly convincing away from home this term, having just about managed to beat RCD Espanyol in their opening match before falling to their only defeat of the campaign against Real Betis.
The hope will be to address that issue and put in a strong performance while collecting all three points heading into the derby against Atletico Madrid later in the week.
Going into the match, Los Blancos have not received any new fitness boosts, with Eder Militao, Rodrygo Goes, and Ferland Mendy still unavailable.
However, there will likely be some rotations with an eye on the derby, and here’s how Mourinho could set his team up against Elche tonight.
Defence
Trent Alexander-Arnold has had to share minutes with summer signing Denzel Dumfries so far this season, but will be hoping to make the right-back spot his own with a convincing performance tonight against Elche.
Meanwhile, on the left, Alvaro Carreras is expected to retain his place after a brilliant display at the weekend against Rayo Vallecano, which would also allow Marc Cucurella to be protected before the derby.
At centre-back, Dean Huijsen is expected to return to the starting lineup, at the expense of Antonio Rudiger, and partner with Ibrahima Konate.
Thibaut Courtois is the undisputed starter in goal for Real Madrid and will continue his search for a second clean sheet this season.
Midfield
While Aurelien Tchouameni has returned from his injury layoff, he is unlikely to be rushed back by Mourinho. As such, the Frenchman is likely to feature off the bench once again tonight at Elche.
Instead, the double pivot pairing of Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva is expected to take the field once again, with Eduardo Camavinga also having to settle for a spot among the substitutes.
Jude Bellingham has started all of Real Madrid’s matches so far this season and given his form and importance to the team, Mourinho will not rotate him tonight against Elche.
Attack
Yan Diomande made his first start at Real Madrid last weekend against Rayo Vallecano but failed to make the best impression.
Meanwhile, Arda Guler was once again brilliant for Los Blancos after coming on as a substitute, making a strong case for him to be reinstated to the starting XI on the right wing.
As for the left side of the attack, Vinicius Jr. will retain his place, hoping to find his best form after a rather slow start to the campaign.
Kylian Mbappe, who has now scored six goals in La Liga this season, will spearhead the attack, hoping to end his run of seven months without scoring away from home in the league.
