Saturday’s third-place play-off is the World Cup 2026 match nobody wanted to be involved in, but here they are nonetheless.
France and England will make many of the right noises about third place being better than fourth and treating every game as if it matters as much as the last, but there’s no denying that this is one prize neither will be all that bothered about.
The World Cup showpiece is the final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday. The third-place play-off – the bronze medal match, to give it its official label – will struggle to draw a television audience with such a dearth of jeopardy.
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France vs England betting odds from BOYLE Sports
- France WIN – 5/6
- Draw – 14/5
- England WIN – 11/4
France vs England prediction
France won the World Cup in 2018 and reached the final in 2022, but their designs on a third successive final this year ran out of puff when they were handsomely beaten by Spain in their semi-final on Tuesday.
England didn’t get ahead of themselves until they entered the last 10 minutes of their semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday with a lead. They were already holding on. They didn’t hold on for much longer.
In all likelihood, England would need to be at the very top of their game to beat this France side, perhaps even beyond what we understand that limit to be. They might have been able to pull that off in a World Cup final.
Whatever the teams say about Saturday’s third-place play-off in Miami, it’s not a final for either of them and there won’t be much pretending it is by the time kick-off rolls around. Teams tend not to punch above their weight in that situation.
England do have a score to settle. Their last meeting with Les Bleus was in the quarter-final of World Cup 2022, a 2-1 win for France on their way to the final. Harry Kane scored one penalty and missed another in the last-eight game in Qatar.
The England captain’s interest in the Golden Boot might be fizzling out but his opposite number is level with Lionel Messi on eight goals, not to mention one behind in the all-time World Cup goalscoring charts.
Kylian Mbappe will eventually take that title from the Argentina captain. He would do so, at least temporarily, with a couple of goals against England.
Score prediction: France 3-0 England
Mbappe needn’t look any further for inspiration than the first of England’s previous two third-place play-off matches.
In 1990, Italy defeated England thanks to a late winning goal from the late Toto Schillaci. He claimed the Golden Boot as a result of his sixth goal of the tournament
How to watch France vs England
You can watch France vs England in the World Cup 2026 third-place play-off for free. All the information you need is in our how to watch guide.
The match will be broadcast live on BBC in the UK, Fox in the United States and SBS in Australia.
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