The World Cup third-place play-off is the 'wooden spoon' of the tournament. A needless and pointless 90 minutes so one country can say they finished as the third-best.
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Deschamps to bid goodbye to Les Bleus
Frankly, it's a title that no one wants. Not least in the wake of the crushing disappointment that only losing in a semi-final can bring.
Saturday's game will be Didier Deschamps' last in charge of Les Bleus before handing the managerial reins over to his former teammate, Zinedine Zidane, and to that end, the French team would surely intend on giving him the perfect send-off.
Deschamps' incredible record will stand the test of time, too.
A 77% win percentage across the 26 World Cup games he's managed in, as well as having been in charge for a total of 186 games before this one, means that his legacy is assured.
England's inquisition continues
The inquisition into England's failure to see off Argentina will likely continue for a while yet, and it will be interesting to see how the players react to Thomas Tuchel's suggestion that the defeat was the players' fault for all intents and purposes, whereas many would place the blame firmly on the German for his late tactical blunders.
That loss was the second of only two instances of a country taking the lead in a men’s World Cup semi-final but failing to get to the final in the 21st century, with England's 2018 loss against Croatia the other.
In any event, before both squads fly home, they need to fulfil their final responsibilities in Miami.
The two sides last met in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, when France triumphed 2-1. Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud were on target for the winners, with Harry Kane's penalty all that England could muster on the day.
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Mbappe can still win the Golden Boot
Both teams come into the game having lost twice in 2026, France winning their other nine games, and England winning seven and drawing two of theirs.
Kylian Mbappe, for all of the disappointment that he clearly articulated in his post-match interviews after the loss to Spain, still has an individual accolade to play for.
Ahead of Argentina's attempts to win a second successive World Cup, he remains level with Lionel Messi for this World Cup's Golden Boot.
Having not won any silverware at all with club and country during 2025/26, ending the season by beating Messi to that particular trophy may be of some consolation.
England could set another unwanted record
England's consolation, were they to beat a French team that, before the Spain defeat, had scored 2+ goals in seven successive games, will seem like a hollow victory for many, with captain Kane already saying that he feels "empty" after the way in which the Three Lions went out of the tournament.
Worse embarrassment could follow, however, as this will be England's third appearance in a World Cup third-place play-off, and no team has ever lost three of these games (they lost the first two).
France haven't played in this particular match since 1986, when they beat Belgium 4-2, and they also triumphed 6-3 against West Germany in the 1958 third-place play-off. The only blot on their copybook in these matches came when they were beaten by Poland in 1982.
In order for Tuchel and Co. to earn their best World Cup finish since winning the title back in 1966, they have to overcome their unwanted record of having lost seven successive WC games against sides ranked in the top 10 before the tournament.
Not to mention that France have won six of the last nine meetings between the two sides, with two matches being drawn and the Three Lions winning only one.
Last dance for Kane?
It isn't clear as yet if this could be Harry Kane's last World Cup game for England, given that he'll be 36 by the time the next tournament comes around, so with that in mind, the Three Lions' record goalscorer could well be ready to put it all on the line for 90+ minutes, even if some of his colleagues can't wait to get on the next plane home.
One player unlikely to make an appearance is Reece James, who appeared to pick up yet another injury in the semi-final, whilst France will be without defensive stalwart William Saliba, after it was confirmed the Arsenal man has a serious back injury that will mean he's not expected back for club or country for some while yet.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
