A look ahead to the World Cup match between France and England that no one wants to play

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/england-j9N9ZNFA/france-QkGeVG1n/?mid=b9l0F3Bj"]The World Cup third-place play-off[/a] is the 'wooden spoon' of the tournament. A needless and pointless 90 minutes so one country can say they finished as the third-best. [/p][p][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/6GWZgs333nUSjW0fFZdtqq?si=5MCpucHKSxiBADVvDRHfJw"][b]Listen to the audio version of this article on Spotify.[/b][/a][/p][h2]Deschamps to bid goodbye to Les Bleus[/h2][p]Frankly, it's a title that no one wants. Not least in the wake of the crushing disappointment that only losing in a semi-final can bring.[/p][p]Saturday's game will be Didier Deschamps' last in charge of Les Bleus before handing the managerial reins over to his former teammate, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zidane-zinedine/b7zuQEqO/"]Zinedine Zidane[/a], and to that end, the French team would surely intend on giving him the perfect send-off.[/p][embed guid="efe3906b-3baa-4684-bf67-d42671b5532e" url="https://x.com/equipedefrance/status/2077408370315640975" social-type="twitter" /][p]Deschamps' incredible record will stand the test of time, too.[/p][p]A 77% win percentage across the 26 World Cup games he's managed in, as well as having been in charge for a total of 186 games before this one, means that his legacy is assured.[/p][h2]England's inquisition continues[/h2][p]The inquisition into [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a]'s failure to see off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a] will likely continue for a while yet, and it will be interesting to see how the players react to Thomas Tuchel's suggestion that the defeat was the players' fault for all intents and purposes, whereas many would place the blame firmly on the German for his late tactical blunders.[/p][p]That loss was the second of only two instances of a country taking the lead in a men’s World Cup semi-final but failing to get to the final in the 21st century, with England's 2018 loss against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/croatia/K8aznggo/"]Croatia[/a] the other. [/p][image alt="France v England - Recent head-to-head results" id="e21bb1d3-3e23-40f8-8914-aa0455105cdd" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="207b7184-4dac-4877-8992-0d3253c9ce84" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p]In any event, before both squads fly home, they need to fulfil their final responsibilities in Miami.[/p][p]The two sides last met in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] triumphed 2-1. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tchouameni-aurelien/QkiZum3e/"]Aurelien Tchouameni[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/giroud-olivier/AJPBp2as/"]Olivier Giroud[/a] were on target for the winners, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kane-harry/v5HSlEAa/"]Harry Kane[/a]'s penalty all that England could muster on the day.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /][h2]Mbappe can still win the Golden Boot[/h2][p]Both teams come into the game having lost twice in 2026, France winning their other nine games, and England winning seven and drawing two of theirs.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mbappe-kylian/Wn6E2SED/"]Kylian Mbappe[/a], for all of the disappointment that he clearly articulated in his post-match interviews after the loss to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/spain/bLyo6mco/"]Spain[/a], still has an individual accolade to play for.[/p][embed guid="4d58129b-d3e9-498a-a320-1938d8cfe106" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2077536010838106398" social-type="twitter" /][p]Ahead of Argentina's attempts to win a second successive World Cup, he remains level with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a] for this World Cup's Golden Boot.[/p][p]Having not won any silverware at all with club and country during 2025/26, ending the season by beating Messi to that particular trophy may be of some consolation.[/p][h2]England could set another unwanted record[/h2][p]England's consolation, were they to beat a French team that, before the Spain defeat, had scored 2+ goals in seven successive games, will seem like a hollow victory for many, with captain Kane already saying that he feels "empty" after the way in which the Three Lions went out of the tournament.[/p][p]Worse embarrassment could follow, however, as this will be England's third appearance in a World Cup third-place play-off, and no team has ever lost three of these games (they lost the first two).[/p][image alt="France v England - Live win probability" id="31ba6cef-9f7e-498c-bb29-7ce7a5224669" credit-line="Opta by Stats Perform" guid="37a31c50-08bd-416c-acbf-bfe69c2156ac" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]France haven't played in this particular match since 1986, when they beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/GbB957na/"]Belgium[/a] 4-2, and they also triumphed 6-3 against West Germany in the 1958 third-place play-off. The only blot on their copybook in these matches came when they were beaten by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/poland/2HzmcynI/"]Poland[/a] in 1982.[/p][p]In order for Tuchel and Co. to earn their best World Cup finish since winning the title back in 1966, they have to overcome their unwanted record of having lost seven successive WC games against sides ranked in the top 10 before the tournament.[/p][p]Not to mention that France have won six of the last nine meetings between the two sides, with two matches being drawn and the Three Lions winning only one.[/p][h2]Last dance for Kane?[/h2][p]It isn't clear as yet if this could be Harry Kane's last World Cup game for England, given that he'll be 36 by the time the next tournament comes around, so with that in mind, the Three Lions' record goalscorer could well be ready to put it all on the line for 90+ minutes, even if some of his colleagues can't wait to get on the next plane home.[/p][embed guid="db3a72cf-34f1-49e4-a050-bb7039c89a3e" url="https://x.com/England/status/2077702280552599945" social-type="twitter" /][p]One player unlikely to make an appearance is [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/james-reece/nLBC7ERa/"]Reece James[/a], who appeared to pick up yet another injury in the semi-final, whilst France will be without defensive stalwart [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saliba-william/EgIM3sB7/"]William Saliba[/a], after it was confirmed the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] man has a serious back injury that will mean he's not expected back for club or country for some while yet.[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]