Who: France vs England
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 – third-place playoff
Where: Miami Stadium in Miami, Florida, the United States
When: Saturday at 5pm (21:00 GMT)
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 18:00 GMT before our live text commentary stream.
Still reeling from heartbreak, France and England face off in a World Cup match neither would have wanted – a third-place playoff offering little more than a figurative bronze medal.
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Firm favourites to add a third World Cup title, in-form France were outclassed by stalwarts Spain in the semifinals, while England’s agonising six-decade wait for a major trophy continued following a late, cruel defeat to Argentina.
A day before the world tunes in to watch the all-important final, France and England will play one last time in North America, hoping to end their disappointing campaign on a positive note – if there is one.
Al Jazeera tells you everything about the third-place playoff:
Deschamps bows out, Mbappe’s silver lining is Golden Boot
There is not much to play for in a third-place playoff, and France, who have won two of their three third-place playoffs, know how unexciting the game can be.
But Saturday’s contest has a good reason for them to put up another fight – it marks coach Didier Deschamps’ last game in charge of France.
Deschamps – who lost his mother during the group stage – has been the France coach for 14 years, during which he led them to the 2018 World Cup title, the 2022 final and this year’s semifinal.
Under the 57-year-old, Les Bleus established themselves as one of the world’s most consistent forces over the past decade, and a third-place finish could be the best way, in the current situation, to draw curtains on his esteemed career.
Away from the managerial farewell, there could be more reasons to rejoice within the France camp. Captain and star striker Kylian Mbappe has the opportunity to take home the Golden Boot and match or break the tournament’s all-time scoring record.
Mbappe, the current Golden Boot holder, is second in this year’s race behind Lionel Messi, with both tied on eight goals, and the Argentinian’s four assists keep him ahead of Mbappe, who has three. The Frenchman is also just one strike behind Messi in matching the record for the most World Cup goals (21).
Should Mbappe beat Messi to the award, the 27-year-old would become the first player to win the Golden Boot twice.
The dreaded game nobody wants to play
Rarely do you see a World Cup team saying they are not looking forward to playing on the sport’s biggest stage.
But competing for a third-place finish in football is not quite like the podium result in track and field. It is a temporary, feel-good moment of a few minutes for most teams – especially those of the calibre of England and France.
It leaves players feeling so close, yet so far.
“None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said after their loss to Argentina. “They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but that’s how it is.”
France’s Deschamps echoed the feeling, saying they have no choice but to show up.
“We’re not where we wanted or expected to be. The disappointment matches our ambitions, but we have to accept it,” he added.
France’s World Cup 2026 results
- France 3-1 Senegal (group stage)
- France 3-0 Iraq (group stage)
- Norway 1-4 France (group stage)
- France 3-0 Sweden (round of 32)
- Paraguay 0-1 France (round of 16)
- France 2-0 Morocco (quarterfinals)
- France 0-2 Spain (semifinals)
England’s World Cup 2026 results
- England 4-2 Croatia (group stage)
- England 0-0 Ghana (group stage)
- Panama 0-2 England (group stage)
- England 2-1 Democratic Republic of the Congo (round of 32)
- Mexico 2-3 England (round of 16)
- Norway 1-2 England (quarterfinals)
- England 1-2 Argentina (semifinals)
England vs France prediction
The Opta supercomputer has picked France as favourites to secure third place, winning the game inside 90 minutes in 50.7 percent of 25,000 pre-match simulations.
The next most likely result is an England win, at 25.6 percent, followed closely by a draw at 90 minutes, which has a 23.7 percent probability.
England vs France: Kickoff time, where to watch
- United Kingdom: Red Button 1, BBC iPlayer, BBC One (10pm, British Summer Time)
- France: beIN Sports, M6, M6+ (11pm, Central European Summer Time)
- US: Fox, Fox One, Peacock, Telemundo App and Network, Universo (5pm, Eastern Daylight Time)
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
England vs France: Head-to-head
This is the fourth World Cup meeting between France and England – the Three Lions won the first two (2-0 in 1966, 3-1 in 1982), but France won 2-1 in their most recent meeting in the 2022 quarterfinals.
Overall, England have won just one of their last nine matches against France (D2 L6), winning 2-0 in a November 2015 friendly.
France vs England: Team news
William Saliba (back) and Brice Samba (calf) are unavailable for France, while England’s Jordan Henderson (wrist) is injured and Reece James (muscle) is doubtful.
With the title no longer in reach, both sides are expected to rotate heavily and offer game time to players who otherwise had fewer minutes, though Mbappe should start for France to have a shot at the Golden Boot.
England’s Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham, who have six goals each, could also play from the get-go and bid for the award one last time.
France’s predicted lineup
(4-2-3-1): Maignan (goalkeeper); Gusto, Lacroix, Konate, T Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Kante; Olise, Cherki, Doue; Mbappe
England’s predicted lineup
(4-3-3): Henderson (goalkeeper); Chalobah, Guehi, Stones, Spence; Mainoo, Anderson, Rogers; Madueke, Kane, Rashford
