Both countries fell short of the ultimate prize, but a bronze medal in the third place play-off provided the motivation for one of the best games of the tournament.

Just three minutes into the match at Miami Stadium, Declan Rice waltzed into the final third and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right with Mike Maignan rooted to his spot.

Our number 41, wearing the captain’s armband for England, continued to pull the strings, getting an assist in the 18th minute when his corner was headed in by Ezri Konsa for 2-0.

Bukayo Saka got in on the act with a couple fo goals before half-time, the first setup by Marcus Rashford following a dangerous counter-attack, and the second created by the impressive turn and pass from Eberechi Eze.

Despite leading 4-0 at half-time, the game was far from over, as Kylian Mbappe fired one in right at the beginning of the second half.

Bradley Barcola made it 4-2 moments later and Mbappe then reduced the arrears further to plant a seed of doubt in Thomas Tuchel’s side, but late on Djed Spence was brought down by Malo Gusto in the penalty area and Saka slotted into the bottom right from the spot for his hat-trick.

Another two goals in added time from Ousmane Dembele and Jude Bellginham rounded off a memorable encounter.

Speaking after the game, Saka said: "Of course I'd love to have played a bigger part [in the tournament] but it's too late for that. I try to do my talking on the pitch but it's time to move on. I'm fit.

"We built and built across the tournament. We had some amazing results and in the end we fell short against Argentina. It hurts a lot to all of us and I'm sure it's the same to the fans back home but we have to hold our heads high and focus on the next one."

Rice added: “I think we can be proud as a group. Best place finish since ’66. I think after the first half performance, we were just gutted that we lost in the semi-final. That feeling at half-time was just that the attacking threat we showed, what we did with the ball, it’s obviously playing on your mind still.

“When you come and play a team like France today you know it’s going to be tough. The motivation is probably not as much there as you thought, but as soon as we arrived and started playing, the motivation was there, the hunger was there, and in the end I thought it was a really good performance.”