France vs. England: Why Saturday's third-placed playoff is a vital match for Thomas Tuchel

It is not the match that either wanted to play in this weekend.

Both England and France had dreams of competing in Sunday's 2026 World Cup final, but following semi-final losses to Argentina and Spain respectively, the two teams will instead take to the field for a third-placed playoff on Saturday.

Pre-tournament favourites France came up short against a slick and well-oiled Spain outfit, while England were beaten late on by long-term rivals Argentina.

France won the World Cup in 2018 and also reached the 2022 final, so it is difficult to be too critical of the Blues, who have had a strong last three tournaments.

However, for England, the wait for a first men's major trophy since 1966 continues.

2026 World Cup: England will face France in third-placed playoff

On the face of it, a third-placed playoff may seem inconvenient, but this is still an important match for England, as a win and a strong performance would certainly take some of the pressure off Thomas Tuchel, who has been heavily criticised since Wednesday's loss.

Only Tuchel will be able to say whether he truly regrets his decision to camp England in their own half while attempting to hold onto the 1-0 lead given to them by Anthony Gordon.

England had been comfortable against Argentina, but their withdrawal in the match handed the initiative to the world champions, with Lionel Messi setting up Enzo Fernandez and then Lautaro Martinez to send his team into another final.

Tuchel got it wrong. The tactics were wrong. The substitutions were wrong. The post-match comments were wide of the mark. It was a bad one for the manager.

Tuchel has been heavily criticised in aftermath of Argentina loss

However, the German does have the chance to guide England to what would be their best World Cup finish since winning the competition 60 years ago.

If third had been offered ahead of the tournament for England, that would have been considered a huge success, but it was the manner of their loss to Argentina that made it so disappointing, rather than the exit itself.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are also in the argument for the Golden Boot, having both scored six times this summer; the England duo are two short of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe heading into the third-placed playoff on Saturday.

This match gives England the chance to end on a positive note rather than a negative one, and it could change a lot of people's recent opinions of Tuchel if it is a strong performance, especially against a team of France's ilk.

England bidding for best World Cup finish since 1966

There have been calls for Tuchel to lose his job in the aftermath of the Argentina loss, but it is understood that he still has the full support of the Football Association.

As a result, the expectation is that Tuchel will remain in charge for Euro 2028.

"First of all, the World Cup is not over," said the England boss after the semi-final defeat. "There is still a match to play [Saturday's third-place play-off against France], that we are not looking forward so much to, but there is still a match to play.

"Then we keep on going. I have a contract until the home Euros and I'm looking forward to that even like now, it is difficult to look that far ahead."

Whether Tuchel deserves another chance is an interesting debate given that he was brought in to win the World Cup but ultimately fell short in a very disappointing way.

However, positives could be taken from a third-placed finish at the 2026 competition, making Saturday's game with France incredibly important for Tuchel and the Three Lions, as optics are everything.