England's Bukayo Saka responded emphatically to his World Cup semi-final benching by scoring a hat-trick in the third-place playoff against France, inspiring a thrilling 6-4 victory. Playing after three days on the sidelines, the Arsenal winger struck twice in the first half and converted a penalty to complete his treble, becoming only the fourth England player ever to achieve this feat at a World Cup and just the second in the knockout stages. The performance reignited debate about whether Tuchel's decision to field Morgan Rogers in the semi-final against Argentina had been justified, especially after Argentina mounted a dramatic comeback to win 2-1.

Tuchel defended his selection, emphasising that benching Saka reflected careful injury management rather than a loss of confidence. The manager noted the winger had entered the tournament managing a persistent Achilles problem from an injury-disrupted club season and required cautious handling, unable to train fully daily. Tuchel stressed that Saka remained a key player whilst acknowledging the difficulty of the semi-final decision, which he said was influenced by Rogers' physicality against Argentina.