Mbappé and Doué. Bellingham and Kane. A World Cup title isn’t on the line, but two heavyweights are still facing off.Â
France and England will look to end their respective 2026 FIFA World Cup campaigns on high note when they play in the tournament’s third-place game on Saturday at Miami Stadium. Both teams are coming off heartbreaking disappointments in the semifinals but will look to turn the page to build momentum for upcoming UEFA Nations League games and eventually Euro 2028.
On Tuesday, France was thoroughly outplayed in a 2-0 loss to Spain, which will take on Argentina in the World Cup final. France’s elite offensive players were never able to get into the game, as Spain had all the answers in its airtight system.Â
The following day, England suffered its own heartbreak when it took a 1-0 lead over Argentina, only to see La Albiceleste rally with two late goals for a 2-1 win.
Those defeats now set the stage for Saturday, and here is everything you need to know about the World Cup’s bronze-medal game.
How To Watch France vs. England
The third-place match has been a long tradition for the World Cup, even though it is typically played in the context of disappointment. There are exceptions, like at the 1994 World Cup when Sweden defeated Bulgaria in a matchup between teams that were thrilled just to have made the semifinals. The same could be said in 2002 when Türkiye defeated South Korea in the best World Cup run for either team. In those games, there was a very positive atmosphere among teams and players.
This game, however, will not be like those editions because both France and England held ambitious goals to win this tournament. Winning this game offers little consolation to these squads and their fans. Also, the conditions of the game will be difficult as both teams will be playing in the heat of South Florida on short rest. It remains to be seen what approaches Didier Deschamps and Thomas Tuchel will take.
France vs. England: Les Bleus’ Key Storylines
For France, there are two key storylines.
First, this will be the final France game head coach Didier Deschamps. As a player, Deschamps won the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championships in 2000 for France. As the national teams manager since 2012, he won the World Cup in 2018, the Nations League in 2020-21, and was the runner-up to the World Cup in 2022. He will now look to cap off his very successful tenure with his 122nd win in charge.
The second storyline for France is Kylian Mbappés race to become the tournaments leading scorer and, perhaps, overtake Lionel Messis all-time record for most World Cup goals. Mbappé has eight goals in this tournament, which is tied with Messi at the top of the Golden Boot race. On the career mark, Mbappé has 20 World Cup goals compared with 21 for Messi.
The third-place game is historically high-scoring and open. It typically makes for a fun game to watch as most teams aggressively attack. For England fans, that will be especially welcome news as Tuchel has faced a wave of criticism for how he became overly defensive against Argentina after taking the lead early in the second half. Any team that tries to get into an open and offensive battle with France is risking a disaster, but England might take that chance without severe consequences.
It is not the game either team would prefer to be playing, but it should be fun
