TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - After a matching shocking upsets, the losing semi-finalists of the 2026 World Cup, France and England, are set to face off for a third place.
France has been hailed as the tournament's favorite, one of the highest-scoring teams. But the team under Didier Deschamps scored nil at the semifinal against Spain, cutting short Kylian Mbappe's race to a Golden Boot title.
Meanwhile, Argentina made a late show rally at the last minutes of the game to equalize England's lone goal at the 55th minute. Lionel Messi had a hand in that goal, and again during injury time, two crucial assists that ultimately knocked out England.
And so, Argentina will face Spain at the World Cup final on July 19, while France and England prepare for a "bronze final," as FIFA calls it.
When and where is the France vs. England third-place playoff?
According to The New York Times, France and England will face each other for a third-place playoff on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. This game will take place just a day before the final between Spain and Argentina.
The kick-off time is expected for 5:00 p.m. ET (US time), or 10:00 p.m. BST (UK time) and 4:00 a.m. WIB (Western Indonesia Time).
How to watch France vs. England third-place playoff
In the United States, the match will be broadcast through FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders FOX for English-language coverage and Telemundo for Spanish coverage.
In the UK, the BBC will live-stream the match across all of its platforms, including TV on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Meanwhile, fans in Indonesia will be seeing the World Cup bronze final from the country's official rights holder, TVRI. The match is also available through the subscription-based Vidio platform.
Head-to-head records
This will be France and England's first face-off after the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, where Les Bleus won. Pressure is on for France as they are coming off from two back-to-back World Cup final appearances.
According to ESPN, here are the last five head-to-head records between England and France:
FIFA World Cup Quarterfinals (2022): France 2-1 England
International Friendly match (2017): France 3-2 England
International Friendly match (2015): France 0-2 England
European Championship Group Stage (2012): France 1-1 England
International Friendly match (2010): France 2-1 England
Since when has the World Cup had a third-place playoff?
The third-place playoff was introduced in 1934, the second edition of the World Cup. During the first edition, the semi-final losers United States and Yugoslavia did not play such a game.
Since then, all editions of the tournament has had a bronze final, except for the 1950 World Cup, which used a round-robin format.
According to The New York Times, a third-place playoff helps fill the scheduling gap between the semifinals and finals. For players, the bronze medal holds more weight than any friendly, as a third-place win could result in their nation's ranking rising up, which could affect their chance to qualify for the next World Cup.
Despite not being awarded any trophy for winning the game, the victor of the third-place match is awarded bronze medals and an extra $2 million in prize money, bringing the total to $29 million.
In the previous World Cup in Qatar, Croatia edged Morocco in third place, behind Argentina and France.
Read: Argentina Returns to World Cup Final After Ousting England
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