France vs England | FIFA World Cup 2026 —Third Place playoff | Preview and Predictions

Both England and France suffered heartbreaking defeats in the semi-finals of the World Cup. While France was outplayed by Spain, England only had themselves to blame against Argentina. 

However, both teams will now have to recover from the setback and play their last game at the World Cup to compete for the third place and the bronze medal. England and France will compete in the third-place playoff on 19th July at the Miami Stadium in the USA. 

Here we present our preview and prediction for the game. 

FIFA WC26 | Bronze-playoff: FRA vs ENG| 02:30 IST, July 19, 2026

France had been the team to beat at this World Cup as they breezed past every opponent until the semi-final stage. They comfortably defeated Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco in the knockouts without conceding a goal. However, their much-vaunted attacking line couldn’t get a sniff of the ball against Spain. 

Such was the tactical and technical brilliance of the Spanish midfield of Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo that they choked France for possession and control. La Roja ended up winning the contest 2-0, maintaining their dominance in the head-to-head record over their arch-nemesis in Europe. Having been made to eat humble pie, Le Bleus would now want to rectify the hurt by beating England for third place. 

As for England, they had played well to get to the semis but not without hiccups. They had a challenging RO32 encounter against DR Congo where they came back from a 1-0 deficit to win the encounter. In the RO16 fixture against Mexico also England were again in a tight spot with Harry Kane turning saviour with two late goals. They then defeated Norway narrowly to qualify for the semis but it was the same old England who succumbed under the pressure of a big knockout fixture. 

Having held Argentina well in the first half, England had taken the lead in the second half and had the momentum. However, they baffled everyone by going over-defensive after scoring just one goal and letting their opponents back in the game. It was all the impetus Argentina needed as Messi once again turned the main man with two assists as Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez scored to defeat England. It was a highly disappointing performance, which England would rue for the next four years. However, they now have the chance to fight for third place and a bronze medal against France. 

Since, there isn’t much jeopardy to this match, we believe the two sides would rest a majority of their key players from the starting lineup and also play a more open game as opposed to the tight, cagey games in the knockouts. Even If they play a second-string side, France is spoilt for choices as they have some highly talented players in Rayan Cherki, Warren-Zaire Emery, Maghnes Akliouche, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Marcus Thuram. England too have a strong bench in Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Eberechi Eze and Ollie Watkins although it’s not as good. 

France has two injured players in Brice Samba and William Saliba who won’t feature in this game while England will miss Reece James and Jordan Henderson due to injury issues. 

Looking at the two teams, France is still the superior team on paper. French striker Kylian Mbappé also has a chance to secure the Golden Boot and could feature in this game. We expect this to be an open and entertaining affair with France to pip England in a high-scoring encounter. 

Score Prediction: France 3-2 England 

Venue: The Miami Stadium, Miami, Florida, USA