France vs England Preview - Prediction, team news, lineups | FIFA World Cup 2026 Third Place Play-off

Les Bleus will take on the Three Lions in the third-place play-off.

France and England will have to put the pain of missing out on the FIFA World Cup 2026 final behind. They face off at the iconic Miami Stadium on Saturday night in the third-place playoff. Both sides were favourites for this World Cup, and they nearly missed out on the spot in the final.

France lost to La Roja 0-2, and it was a disappointing performance from them. This was the third knockout match which they lost against them. Didier Deschamps and his men will hope to make some changes tactically so that they can give their best against the Three Lions, who are a very well-drilled side.

They did beat them the last time. They faced each other in the previous World Cup. They will hope to do it again on Saturday.

On the other hand, England, despite playing really well against Argentina, sat back after 1-0 and allowed the opposition team to make a comeback. Thomas Tuchel and his men will be very dissapointed on how things have gone forward for them.

The Three Lions had a great chance of making it to the final of the World Cup after 60 years. But they failed to grab the opportunity. Now they will fight for their honour and reputation against France in the third-place match.

Kick-Off:

• Location: Miami, USA
• Stadium: Miami Stadium
• Date: Saturday, 18 July
• Kick-Off Time: 05:00 PM (EST) | 09:00 PM (GMT) | 19/07/2026, 02:30 AM (IST)
• Referee: TBD
• VAR: In Use

Form

France (in all competitions): L-W-W-W-W

England (in all competitions): L-W-W-W-W

Players to Watch

Kylian Mbappe (France)

Mbappe was very close to making it three finals in a row. But France suffered defeat against Spain in the semi-final. Overall, the team’s performance was poor against La Roja.

Mbappe was not able to help his team. Despite this setback, he will be hungry to win this fixture as well. He is still in the race for the Golden Boot.

The Real Madrid forward will hope to win it in back-to-back World Cups. So far, he has scored eight and is tied with Lionel Messi.

Jude Bellingham (England)

Despite being a midfielder, he is in the race for the Golden Boot. Overall, he had a great World Cup campaign so far and did really well for his nation. Despite England being out of the World Cup race, he did really well against Argentina.

He is also in contention for the Player of the Tournament. In order to win it, he will have to give his all against France. In the seven matches he played, he scored six goals and provided one assist.

Match Facts

• This will be the third time they face each other in the FIFA World Cup
• France won 2-1 against England in their last fixture.
• This will be the first time they face each other in two consecutive World Cups

Injury and Team News

William Saliba was subbed off in the semi-final match against Spain. His World Cup journey is over. The rest of the French team is fully fit to play.

Meanwhile, the Three Lions will have all the players available for this match.

Head-to-Head

Matches: 32

France: 10

England: 17

Draws: 5

Predicted Lineups

France Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Maignan (GK); Kounde, Upamecano, Lacroix, Digne; Kone, Rabiot; Dembele, Olise, Barcola; Mbappe

England Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Pickford (GK); James, Stones, Guehi, Spence; Rice, Anderson; Rogers, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

Match Prediction

Both sides had a great World Cup campaign and will be aiming to grab third place. This will be a very competitive fixture for sure. It might go to extra time as well.

Most probably, France will win this fixture. They will finish as the third-best team.

Prediction: France 3-2 England

Telecast Details

India: Unite8 Sports Channels, ZEE5

UK: BBC & ITV

USA: FOX Sports

Nigeria: DStv

Full Broadcaster List here.

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