Seven reasons the France-England World Cup third-place match in Miami matters
France and England are both coming off crushing losses in the World Cup semifinals. France, a star-studded favorite to lift the trophy, was outclassed 2-0 by Spain and England squandered a late lead against Argentina as Lionel Messi and his teammates pulled off another dramatic comeback.
Instead of playing in Sunday’s final, the two traditional soccer powers will be relegated to a third-place bronze match Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium that will provide little consolation to either team or their fan bases.
Surely, the French and English teams would love nothing more than a vacation at this point, a chance to relax, reunite with family and friends, and bury those losses underneath all the great memories they have of their impressive World Cup runs.
Instead, they must find a way to get motivated and lace their boots up one more time.
Why, you ask, is there a third-place game? Why not just move on with it after the semis? People have been asking that for many years, including England coach Thomas Tuchel.
“None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,” Tuchel said after the loss to Argentina. “We demand the most of ourselves. That’s just the nature of being competitive. They want to play in the final. We gave everything to achieve that… We have one day less of recovery than France, but we will [approach the match] with professionalism.”
The third-place game was introduced in 1934 to reward the third-place finisher, as the Olympics do with bronze medalists. It has also become a way to fill the scheduling gap between the semis and the final, and, yes, bring in more revenue for tournament organizers, host cities, and TV rights-holders. Germany holds the record of most World Cup third place finishes with four.
Here are seven reasons to care about the third-place match…
GOLDEN BOOT RACE
Perhaps most compelling the Golden Boot trophy is still up for grabs, and three players in this game have a chance to win it.
France captain Kylian Mbappe is currently tied with Lionel Messi as this World Cup’s joint top scorer with eight goals so far. But the Argentine has the edge in the tiebreaker because he has four assists and Mbappe has three.
With a goal or two assists on Saturday, Mbappe could overtake Messi, and then it would be up to Messi to see if he could regain the lead and claim the trophy on Sunday. It is the only major trophy missing from Messi’s resume.
There is a precedent for a player in a third-place game clinching the Golden Boot. Italy’s Salvatore Schillaci won it in 1990 by scoring in the bronze game against England.
Speaking of England, two players from the Three Lions squad remain mathematically in the running for the Golden Boot. Captain Harry Kane and star Jude Bellingham are level with six goals each, two behind Messi and Mbappe.
MEDALS AND MONEY
Like in the Olympics, the third-place finishers in the World Cup receive bronze medals. Although they would prefer a trophy, at least they take home some hardware. The victor also earns a larger share of the tournament prize money, $2 million more to be exact. The winner of Saturday’s game will take home a total of $29 million, while the loser will get $27 million.
FIFA RANKINGS
The result of the third-place game impacts FIFA world rankings, which in turn impacts a team’s seeding in upcoming international tournaments and the qualifying draw for the 2030 World Cup.
ENGLAND HISTORY
The Three Lions entered this tournament determined to make history, aiming to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966.
They fell short of that dream, but they could still make their mark. A third-place finish would be England’s best finish in 60 years. And that’s something.
England has played in two other bronze matches at the World Cup and lost both. Bobby Robson’s team was beaten by host Italy in 1990, while Gareth Southgate’s team lost to Belgium in Russia in 2018.
PLAYING TIME FOR LESSER-SEEN PLAYERS
The bronze game is the perfect chance for coaches of both teams to give some minutes to players who have not had many thus far.
N’Golo Kante, who was on France’s 2018 championship team, is 35 now and has yet to play in this World Cup. This could be his last chance.
Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo might finally get in for England. Ivan Toney, who plays in the Saudi league, and Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins could also get increased minutes.
DIDIER DESCHAMPS’ LAST MATCH
The Didier Deschamps era will not end how the coach and his team had hoped, considering Les Bleus’ impressive roster and success through the quarterfinals. They were a heavy favorite to reach a third straight World Cup Final and lift the trophy.
Spain got in the way.
But his players would love to send him out with a victory. Deschamps, 57, has been in charge of France’s team for 14 years, during which they won the 2018 World Cup title and reached three successive semifinals.
“There’s one game left for [Deschamps], so we’re going to try to play the best game for him because he deserves it, and also the fans deserve to have a win and finish third in this World Cup,” Mbappe said.
ONE LAST SOUTH FLORIDA PARTY
Finally, another visit by England (which beat Norway at Hard Rock Stadium in the quarterfinals) and a first visit by a fabulous French team is as high-profile a bronze game as South Florida could have wished for when the draw was announced. This diverse, soccer-savvy community knows full well that these two teams are among the best in the world, with some of the biggest stars, so it’s the perfect seventh game to pack Hard Rock Stadium one last time. If you have a ticket to the match, here is a game-day stadium guide with all the information you need to know.
This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 12:08 PM.