Preview: France vs England - prediction, team news, lineups

Playing for the prize that nobody wants to win – at least before the first ball is kicked – France and England renew hostilities in Saturday’s World Cup 2026 third-placed playoff; or bronze playoff as it has also been dubbed.

Les Bleus’ favourites tag was ripped up by Spain in their 2-0 semi-final defeat, before the Three Lions lost their bite in a deserved 2-1 reverse to reigning champions Argentina in Atlanta.

Match preview

At the sound of the final whistle in France’s semi-final with Spain, Bleus boss Didier Deschamps would have either been right, or he would have been a World Cup finalist again. Devastatingly for the departing 57-year-old, the former scenario came to fruition.

Deschamps made no bones about talking up Spain’s “favourites” status - a view shared by some of the best betting sites for the World Cup - before the European rivals butted heads on Tuesday evening, when La Roja channelled the spirits of their semi-final triumphs over France at Euro 2024 and the 2024-25 Nations League to conquer the gauntlet that Luis de la Fuente’s opposite number laid down.

Mikel Oyarzabal’s inch-perfect penalty and a fine strike from player-of-the-tournament contender Pedro Porro deservedly punched Spain’s ticket to Sunday’s final against Argentina, after the formerly fearsome Kylian Mbappe and co were restricted to a paltry 0.31 Expected Goals at the Dallas Stadium, where the Roja rearguard comfortably triumphed in the billed defence-vs-attack battle.

On an evening when Deschamps broke the record for the most World Cup matches as a manager, his Mundial legacy was certainly not tarnished entirely, but the consensus among insiders and outsiders was that he got it disastrously wrong; even Mbappe openly criticised France’s tactical approach in the immediate aftermath.

Ending an otherwise distinguished France career in the match he never intended to take charge of, Deschamps will at least try to steer Les Bleus to a third World Cup bronze medal from four third-placed playoffs, this being their first since the 1986 edition.

France bested Belgium 4-2 that year to finish on the podium and also trounced West Germany 6-3 in the 1958 third-placed playoff – with Just Fontaine scoring four – but they had to settle for fourth behind Poland in the 1982 edition.

Also lambasted for perceived tactical naivety in the final four, Thomas Tuchel became public enemy number one in England on Wednesday evening, when widespread pre-game optimism among the Three Lions faithful proved to be painfully unfounded.

Refusing to take the Argentinian bait as the champions continuously snapped at their heels, England exposed the Albiceleste’s wide weaknesses to draw first blood through Anthony Gordon, before adopting an ultimately fatal try-to-break-us-down approach against Lionel Messi and co.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner gleefully accepted the invitation, laying on a pair of assists for Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez in an absorbing Argentine fightback, keeping the holders’ hopes of back-to-back triumphs alive and triggering yet another inquest into yet another major-tournament failure for the Three Lions.

Shades of 2018 were present for England, who have persistently failed to bridge the gap to the elite of the elite when it matters most, having now lost each of their seven World Cup knockout ties when facing a team sitting in the top 10 of the world rankings.

Furthermore, the Three Lions are responsible for the only two instances of a country taking the lead in a men’s World Cup semi-final yet failing to advance in the 21st century – suffering that exact same fate against Croatia eight years ago – and the wisdom behind the FA’s decision to extend Tuchel’s contract is now being understandably questioned.

Putting a minor positive spin on things, the former Chelsea boss could still steer England to their second-best finish at a men’s World Cup, as the Three Lions’ previous two appearances in the third-placed playoff ended in failure; a 2-0 defeat to Belgium in 2018 and 2-1 loss to Italy at the 1990 edition.

However, a bronze medal would represent the most inconsequential consolation for the crestfallen English, who have also won just one of their last nine matches against France, most recently seeing their 2022 World Cup dreams dashed at the hands of Deschamps’s then-holders in the quarter-finals.

France World Cup form:

England World Cup form:

Team News

“My back is gone, my back is gone” – Eight words that made for grim reading for fans of France and Arsenal, eight words professed by William Saliba after the centre-back was forced off in the first half of Tuesday’s defeat with his well-documented back problem.

An official update on Saliba’s problem is yet to arrive, but an appearance on Saturday is surely out of the question, so Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix can anticipate a call-up to the first XI after replacing his Premier League colleague in Arlington.

Deschamps explained that Lacroix was selected over Ibrahima Konate due to the latter “not being at his best” and also unfamiliarity with playing as a left-sided centre-back, but the Real Madrid-bound defender could now displace Dayot Upamecano as the Bleus boss tinkers ever so slightly with his final XI.

Backup goalkeeper Brice Samba was an unexpected casualty in France's first post-semi training session, but no change in between the posts is anticipated anyway.

Deschamps and Tuchel can empathise over semi-final injuries to Premier League defenders, as the perpetually luckless Reece James was forced off with an apparent muscular problem in the loss to Argentina, merely a week after making a full recovery from a hamstring concern.

Jarell Quansah has served his two-game ban and is an option to step in for the stricken James, but man of the moment Djed Spence should switch to the opposite flank, allowing Nico O'Reilly to return to the left-hand side of the rearguard.

Jordan Henderson (wrist) remains sidelined too, but England otherwise have a full complement of options for the bronze-medal match, in which Tuchel ought to stick with a strong XI in the hope of bowing out on a high.

However, there is some concern over a potential ban for Jude Bellingham, who was caught on camera slapping the back of Valentin Barco's head during Argentina's post-match celebrations.

France possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Kounde, Konate, Lacroix, T. Hernandez; Kone, Zaire-Emery; Cherki, Olise, Doue; Mbappe

England possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Spence, Konsa, Guehi, O'Reilly; Rice, Anderson; Rogers, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

We say: France 2-1 England

Spain provided the blueprint for how to stop the French attack, but with all due respect to England, the Three Lions are no Spain, evidenced by their failure to keep a single knockout clean sheet at the current World Cup.

As Les Bleus will have also enjoyed an extra day to recover - both physically and psychologically - Deschamps's men have our backing to climb onto the podium as England are consigned to a familiar fourth-placed finish.

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