France and England will meet Saturday, July 18, in the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place playoff, a day before the final between Argentina and Spain. Both sides arrive off semifinal defeats: France fell 2-0 to Spain in Dallas, undone by an early Mikel Oyarzabal penalty and a Pedro Porro strike in the second half, while England lost 2-1 to Argentina after conceding twice in the final minutes of a match they had largely controlled.
Third-place playoffs are often treated as a formality by players and fans alike, overshadowed by the final itself, but this year's edition carries more storylines than usual. Kylian Mbappé and France will be looking to salvage something from a tournament that ended in frustration against a Spain side that limited their chances all evening. England, meanwhile, will want to avoid finishing the tournament with back-to-back defeats after a semifinal loss that turned in a matter of minutes.
Neither side is expected to make wholesale changes given the physical toll of a World Cup run, though squad rotation is common in this fixture as coaches manage fitness for players heading back to club preseason. The match won't carry the weight of Sunday's final, but a podium finish at a World Cup remains a notable line on any player's résumé — and with several players from both sides among the tournament's most closely watched individual performers, there's still plenty to watch for neutral viewers.
Kickoff details and broadcast information will follow closer to Saturday.
