The penultimate match at the FIFA World Cup 2026 will take place Saturday as England and France battle for a spot on the podium in the bronze final.
Both nations are aiming for the consolation prize after losing their respective semifinals earlier this week.
England is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Argentina in their semifinal on Wednesday. After grabbing the lead in the 55th minute, England was unable to hold onto the slim margin and allowed late goals from Enzo Fernandez (85th minute) and Lautaro Martinez (92nd minute).
“I’m gutted for the team, the staff, the fans. We played a good game for the majority of it. When we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try to hold on, which at this level is not enough,” said England captain Harry Kane. “We worked so hard to be here. The lads have given every bit of blood, sweat and tears. To fall short like we did is just gutting.”
Kane and Jude Bellingham have six goals apiece and have combined for 12 of the squad’s 14 goals in the tournament. Anthony Gordon, who scored the opener against Argentina, and Marcus Rashford, have the other markers.
This is the second time in the past three World Cups that England will play for third after falling to Belgium in the bronze game in 2018.
France enters the third-place game off a lacklustre performance against Spain, where they were held off the scoresheet in a 2-0 semifinal loss.
Kylian Mbappe will likely start Saturday’s match, as he has the chance to overtake Lionel Messi for the World Cup Golden Boot. Both men have eight goals, but Messi currently holds the tiebreaker as he has one more assist than Mbappe.
Mbappe also has the chance to make history on Saturday. The Real Madrid man needs two goals to reach 22 all-time at the World Cup, leapfrogging Messi - even if momentarily - for the most ever at a men’s World Cup.
“Of course we want to finish on a positive note,” France defender Maxence Lacroix told FIFA. “It’s not in our DNA to give up on this final match. So many supporters have travelled thousands of kilometres to back us, and we owe it to them as well. We don’t want to go out through the back door.”
This will also be the final match for head coach Didier Deschamps, who is stepping down after 14 years in charge.
France will be without defender William Saliba, after he sustained a back injury in the semifinal against Spain.
This will be France’s fourth appearance in the third-place game, having last won the match in 1986 against Belgium.
France and England have faced off three times at the World Cup. The Three Lions took the first two meetings in 1966 and 1982, but it was Les Bleus who emerged victorious in the quarter-finals in Qatar in 2022.
