France and England face off on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in the World Cup third-place playoff. Kylian Mbappé is in the starting lineup, continuing his chase for a second consecutive Golden Boot after winning the tournament's top scorer award in Qatar in 2022.
Mbappé and Lionel Messi lead the scoring charts with eight goals each, but the Argentine holds the first tiebreaker with four assists to Mbappé's three. Messi and defending champion Argentina will face Spain in Sunday's final.
England, meanwhile, left Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane on the bench — both have scored six goals in the tournament. Gareth Southgate's side arrives after their semifinal defeat to Argentina, having squandered a 1-0 lead.
France lost to Spain in the semifinals, missing the chance to reach a third consecutive World Cup final — an achievement no nation has ever accomplished. For Les Bleus, this match also marks the final game in charge for Didier Deschamps, who steps down after 14 years at the helm of the French national team.
Both teams admitted they would rather be playing on Sunday, but closing the tournament with a victory and a podium finish remains a significant objective. The match comes four years after the 2022 Qatar final and represents a transitional moment for both sides, with Deschamps bidding farewell and England looking to build on their project.
Sources
- [AP News — Mbappé starts for France in third-place match vs. England](https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-england-france-third-place-score-52f94eda6ff6d268d38aaefbc446c525)
