France vs. England live commentary: World Cup 2026 score, team news, updates

Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the World Cup 2026 third-place playoff between France and England at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida!

The Mundial match that no team wants to play in has finally arrived, but victory for the Three Lions would mark their second-best finish at a World Cup, while Les Bleus can end Didier Deschamps's reign on a minor high.

Stay up to date with all the action courtesy of our matchday blog below!

France vs. England: What's the story?

A World Cup final between any of the four semi-finalists would have been a fitting ending to a frenetic tournament, but France failed to live up to their favourites tag against Spain last Tuesday evening.

Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro ensured that France would not be winning their second World Cup in three years, and more importantly, that Deschamps's glittering tenure would not conclude in the perfect way.

However, Les Bleus have prevailed more often than not when competing in the World Cup third-place playoff, winning two of their previous three bronze-medal matches in 1958 and 1986, only losing to Poland in 1982.

In contrast, England have been condemned to fourth-placed finishes on both of their previous third-place playoff appearances, losing to Italy in the 1990 third-place playoff before a 2-0 defeat to Belgium under Gareth Southgate in 2018.

The latter's long-term successor Thomas Tuchel was brought in with one mission in mind; win the 2026 World Cup. But after the Three Lions became the latest victims of an Argentinian comeback job, he has already faced numerous calls to lose his job.

Tuchel's tactical decisions in the semi-finals were slammed from all corners - fans, journalists and pundits alike - but the ex-Chelsea manager has a contract until Euro 2028 and retains the full support of the FA for the time being.

Both head coaches are expected to make a few changes in Florida, but Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane should still start up front as the pair battle for the World Cup Golden Boot; the Frenchman is level with Lionel Messi at the top of the charts on eight goals, while six-strike Kane must score a hat-trick and hope that his rivals draw blanks to take home the individual accolade.

France and England are clashing for the first time since the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, which ended in a 2-1 triumph for Les Bleus, and the Three Lions' only win from their last nine head-to-heads was a 2-0 friendly victory in November 2015.