France vs. England: Premier League-winning striker gives his insight on World Cup third-place playoff

France and England are set to square off in the World Cup 2026 third-place playoff this Saturday in Miami, with kickoff at 10pm British Standard Time.

Both nations will be disappointed to be featuring in this game following their defeats in the semi-final of the tournament. Les Bleus were professionally dismantled by Spain, while the English suffered late heartache to Argentina.

FIFA would argue this match is between the third and fourth best teams in the competition, so it should whet the appetite of every football fan for the World Cup final; however, Jeremie Aliadiere and the majority of supporters feel differently about it.

Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, thanks to BetVictor, the former Arsenal striker said: “I think we're all going to be disappointed with the level.

“I just think both teams are so tired from that whole season, and they both had so much expectation of winning the World Cup and getting to the final that they just both feel they don't really want to play that game, if I'm being honest. So, I just think it won't be the game that we kind of expect to see. I think the tempo will be a bit slow.

“I think maybe players that haven't played much will maybe get a chance to play. So yeah, I just think it's a 50-50; it could go either way.”

France vs. England: History of World Cup third-place playoff

The third-place playoff has been a part of the World Cup since 1934, when it was first introduced at the second tournament, with Germany emerging as the inaugural victor by defeating Austria.

Since then, we have always had this fixture at the competition, with the team finishing third on most occasions being Germany, who have secured this bronze medal on four occasions, if you count their appearance as West Germany in 1970 when they beat Uruguay.

England have never actually finished third in the World Cup, as they have lost this fixture on two occasions, the first being in 1990 when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Italy and then in 2018 when Belgium came up trumps 2-0.

Meanwhile, France have finished third on two occasions, their first coming in 1958 and their second coming in 1986, when they beat Belgium.

The French also lost this fixture when they were on the end of a 3-2 defeat to Poland at the 1982 World Cup.

Now, this fixture between the two nations may be used, as stated by Aliadiere, to rotate their squad and give run outs to the players that have not featured across the tournament to this point.