2026 World Cup, third place game: France vs England

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 15: Thomas Tuchel, Manager of England, reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium on July 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) | Getty Images The World Cup is one of the last remaining knockout competitions to insist on holding a third-place game for the two losers of the semifinals.Occasionally, this might have some meaning for a team who may have overachieved just to get to the final four, and could thus still finish with a rewarding win.

But more often, it’s an entirely meaningless exercise for two teams who would like nothing more than to not be there.And that’s certainly the case this year, with both England and France bitterly disappointed to be in Miami this weekend rather than New York City — England especially given the nature of their late-stage collapse against Argentina on Wednesday. France were much more comprehensively beaten by Spain.

A loss is a loss, of course, any way it comes. Nothing short of winning the World Cup was ever going to be enough for these two, so they are far from happy at the moment.So that will give us either a fun exhibition, or an entirely low-key affair that will put everyone to sleep.

Hopefully it’s the former!Date / Time: Saturday, July 18, 2026, 5pm EDT; 10pm BSTVenue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL, USAReferee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); BBC One (UK); elsewhereStreaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); BBC iPlayer (UK)Chelsea interest: Among the many fateful decisions made by Thomas Tuchel in Wednesday’s semifinal collapse against Argentina was taking off Reece James with less than minutes to go … shortly after which England would concede twice, including the winner at Reecey’s post.

Tommy T has been peppered with criticisms from all corners ever since, some quite fair some rather unfair, but he remains in charge and he’s already said that he’s not [FUNNING] leaving. Presumably, h