Why France and England Are Playing in a World Cup Bronze Final
England and France’s World Cup campaigns both came to an end this week with heartbreaking semifinal defeats to Argentina and Spain. Except, it’s not quite over yet.
The World Cup final is set to take place this Sunday at MetLife Stadium, but there is still one more game to play before the showpiece event.
On Saturday in Miami, the tournament’s 103rd match sees France and England contest the so-called “bronze final”—known as the third-place playoff before the 2026 tournament.
The match is something of an oddity in World Cup history, appearing at all but two previous editions. While it purports to be a competitive fight for third place, in reality it is often little more than a glorified friendly between two exhausted and despondent nations.
What’s at Stake in the Bronze Final?
FIFA’s own online preview claims that “both sides [are] eyeing up a place on the World Cup podium after losing in the semifinals”, but that is a generous assessment of the enthusiasm levels.
Given the choice, both England and France would surely opt to skip the occasion entirely and head home after several grueling weeks that have ultimately ended in disappointment. A chance to shake FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s hand and collect a medal that says ‘third place’ is hardly the consolation they will want.
Ever the blunt speaker, England manager Thomas Tuchel said as much after the defeat to Argentina.
“None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,” he told reporters. “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. We have one less day of recovery than France, but we will do it with professionalism.”
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In what will become a piece of future trivia, the match will serve as Didier Deschamps’s send-off as France manager, with the 57-year-old set to step down after 14 years in charge.
Both teams are likely to rotate heavily for the occasion, with lesser-used squad members generally given a runout as recognition of their service.
Kylian Mbappé, however, might be one man keen to participate, with the Real Madrid star still in the race for the Golden Boot. He is currently tied with Lionel Messi on eight goals, but trails the Argentina captain on the tie-breaking factor: assists (four to three).
Mbappé may hope to emulate countryman Just Fontaine, who holds the record for most goals in a single World Cup tournament with 13, after scoring four times in the 1958 bronze final.
History of the Third-Place Playoff
France will feature in its fourth third-place playoff, having previously won the match at the 1958 World Cup against West Germany and again in 1986 against Belgium. Les Bleus lost to Poland in 1982.
England, meanwhile, will play in the fixture for the third time, having previously lost to Italy in 1990 and Belgium in 2018. Despite Tuchel’s protestations, England has the chance to achieve a national first on Saturday by getting on the World Cup podium.
At the most recent third-place playoff at the 2022 World Cup, Croatia beat Morocco 2–1, with Joško Gvardiol and Mislav Oršić on the scoresheet for the winners in Qatar.
Germany has the most third-place finishes in World Cup history with four.
Every Bronze Final in World Cup History
Year | Bronze Final |
|---|---|
1930 | N/A |
1934 | Germany 3-2 Austria |
1938 | Brazil 4-2 Sweden |
1950 | N/A |
1954 | Austria 3-1 Uruguay |
1958 | France 6-3 West Germany |
1962 | Chile 1-0 Yugoslavia |
1966 | Portugal 2-1 Soviet Union |
1970 | West Germany 1-0 Uruguay |
1974 | Poland 1-0 Brazil |
1978 | Brazil 2-1 Italy |
1982 | Poland 3-2 France |
1986 | France 4-2 Belgium |
1990 | Italy 2-1 England |
1994 | Sweden 4-0 Bulgaria |
1998 | Croatia 2-1 Netherlands |
2002 | Turkey 3-2 South Korea |
2006 | Germany 3-1 Portugal |
2010 | Germany 3-2 Uruguay |
2014 | Netherlands 3-0 Brazil |
2018 | Belgium 2-0 England |
2022 | Croatia 2-1 Morocco |
When Is the World Cup’s Bronze Final?
- Location: Miami, United States
- Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium
- Date: Saturday, June 18
- Kick-off Time: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT / 10 p.m BST
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