France vs England
France and England are consigned to the World Cup 2026 third-place play-off following their semi-final losses to Spain and Argentina, respectively. These two European powerhouses are out to salvage some pride by winning bronze when they convene at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, this Saturday evening.
France are out of contention after they couldn’t get anything going against Spain, while England failed to put away Argentina after building an early lead. We don’t expect these two teams to go all out this weekend since they’re understandably in a bad mood. However, this could open up more playing time for their seldom-used rotation players.
This match also represents Didier Deschamps’ final game in charge of Les Bleus, with Zinedine Zidane waiting on the wings. On the other hand, Thomas Tuchel’s future with England has suddenly become murky.
Learn more about this match in South Beach, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Talking Points
France’s attacking triumvirate eager to bounce back
France were widely expected to progress to the final because they’ve been one of the top-performing teams in the quadrennial tournament. After finishing with a 100-per cent record in Group I, Les Bleus secured three consecutive shutout victories against Sweden (3-0), Paraguay (1-0), and Morocco (2-0) in the knockout stage.
Kylian Mbappe is among the frontrunners to win this year’s Golden Ball and Golden Boot. The Real Madrid forward has a tournament-high eight goals and three assists. Ousmane Dembele has five goals and two assists, and Michael Olise is their best playmaker with five assists. Not to be left out, Bradley Barcola has two goals and one assist, while Desire Doue has one goal and one assist.
However, Spain shut down France’s vaunted offence during the semi-finals. Luis de la Fuente’s side dominated the midfield battle, while his centre-backs Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte held their ground. After Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro scored for La Roja, Didier Deschamps made wholesale changes, replacing Barcola and Olise with Doue and Rayan Cherki, but to no avail.
Mbappe had only 15 touches during the first half, which ultimately killed France’s momentum. He couldn’t hide his disappointment after the match, and he took a shot at Deschamps’ tactics.
England’s Bellingham and Kane were neutralized
England probably thought they’d won the match when they were up by one goal after Anthony Gordon scored off Morgan Rogers’ cross in the 55th minute. But they learned the hard way that there’s no room for complacency against Argentina, the comeback kings.
Thomas Tuchel was content to preserve their one-goal lead rather than adding to it, as they no longer pressed and conceded possession to La Albiceleste. His tactics ultimately backfired, as Lionel Messi teed up Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez late to snatch the victory.
The Three Lions’ best players, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, were unable to impose their will on Argentina, especially Kane, who never really looked like a threat to score.
History
Saturday marks the 33rd competitive meeting between France and England. These two European powerhouses last met in the World Cup 2022 quarter-finals, where France secured a 2-1 win. Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud were on the scoresheet for Les Bleus, while Harry Kane converted a penalty for the Three Lions. Didier Deschamps’ men went all the way to the final before losing to Argentina in the penalty shootout.
England are on a two-game losing streak against France, with their last win being a 2-0 result in an international friendly last June 2017.
For the first time in his professional career, Kylian Mbappe won’t play in a World Cup final. However, Mbappe (20 goals) can leapfrog Lionel Messi (21 goals) in the World Cup all-time scoring list if he scores at least two goals against England and if Messi doesn’t score at all against Spain.
Betting Tip
The World Cup 2026 odds expect France to take the bronze medal over England this Saturday in South Beach. Les Bleus are 1.99 favourites to win, whereas the Three Lions are at 3.49, and a draw after 90 minutes is at 3.68 in the 1X2 market. Both teams can produce numerous new World Cup 2026 highlights for the fans to enjoy this weekend. Besides our recommended bet, punters may also consider adding Over 2.75 at 1.55 and Total Goal 2-3 at 2.22 to the parlay. Furthermore, the Correct Score of 2-1 in favour of France – the result of their previous World Cup encounter – offers a tidy payout of 8.20 your bet.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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