If you asked France or England a week ago what they wanted out of this World Cup, neither would have said “a shot at third place.” This isn’t the game anyone circled on the calendar. Both teams came here chasing something much bigger.

France was trying to make it three straight finals. England was trying to finally move past decades of “what if” and “maybe next time.” Instead, they both fell just short, in very different ways, and now they’re left with one last match in Miami before heading home.

Thomas Tuchel didn’t try to pretend otherwise after England’s loss to Argentina:

“None of these players, none of the French players want to play this match. They want to play in the final. We gave everything to be in the final. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but it is what it is.”

It’s hard to argue with that. You don’t go through a tournament like this just to end up playing for third.

Fans feel it too. Most would rather spend the weekend replaying the semifinals in their heads or looking ahead to Spain vs. Argentina. A bronze medal doesn’t really soften the blow — it really just reminds you how close you were.

And yet, that’s kind of what makes this game interesting. With the pressure gone, things can open up in a way they usually don’t on this stage. There’s no bigger prize hanging over every decision, no need to play it safe just to survive another round. What’s left are tired players, a bit of pride, and a lot of attacking talent with nothing to lose. Sometimes, that’s exactly when the game gets good.

The Bronze Game Has Always Been A Little Weird

The third-place game isn’t nearly as important as FIFA would like everyone to believe. Winning it isn’t going to make France forget about getting outplayed by Spain, and it definitely won’t erase England’s brutal final 15 minutes against Argentina. Nobody’s putting up statues for finishing third.

But here’s the thing: these games are usually pretty fun. Like, genuinely fun. Ten of the last 11 third-place matches have had at least three goals. The only one that didn’t was Belgium beating England 2-0 in 2018. The last 10 have combined for 38 goals. And the actual World Cup final typically turns into a tense, cagey standoff where nobody wants to blink first. No third-place game has ever gone to penalties, and only one even needed extra time — France’s 4-2 win over Belgium back in 1986.

And honestly, it makes sense. You’ve still got two of the best teams in the tournament out there, just without all the pressure that usually makes them play it safe. Everyone’s tired. Everyone’s a little emotionally fried. Coaches start mixing things up. Defenders who’ve spent a month throwing their bodies in front of everything don’t quite have the same edge for a game they never planned on playing. Meanwhile, the attackers getting a rare start or real minutes aren’t thinking about game management — they’re trying to make something happen so their name sticks in the manager’s head.

Saturday should have all of that energy. France and England have already combined for 30 goals, and even with rotation, it’s not like either team is digging deep into the reserves. France can roll out guys like Cherki, Doué, Barcola, Olise, or Dembélé alongside Mbappé. England’s got Rashford, Eze, Rogers, Madueke, and Watkins ready to go if Tuchel decides Kane, Bellingham, or Saka need a breather.

Kobbie Mainoo hasn’t played a minute yet, which feels kind of wild. This might finally be his shot, especially with Rice running on fumes and Henderson out. And because this game doesn’t carry the same weight, Tuchel can actually give a young midfielder a chance without worrying that one mistake will define the whole tournament. France is in a similar spot — Deschamps has already said he’ll rotate, and they’re missing guys like Saliba and Samba anyway.

Does that guarantee beautiful soccer? Not really. But it might give us something better: messy, open, slightly chaotic soccer played by insanely talented players. Fresh attackers running at back lines that haven’t played together much. Midfields that don’t quite click. England’s had one less day to recover, and they’ve already been through a brutal schedule with travel, altitude, and heat. And now they get Miami at 5 p.m. in July, which sounds like a punishment more than a kickoff time.

All of that usually leads to mistakes. And when you’ve got players like Mbappé, Dembélé, Kane, and Bellingham around, mistakes get punished.

Both Teams Just Learned The Cost Of Playing Scared

France and England didn't have the same kind of semifinal loss. Spain beat France 2-0 and never really allowed the match to become the heavyweight fight everyone expected. France came into the night with 16 goals in six matches, had scored at least three four different times, and hadn't conceded in the knockout stage. Then Spain took away the space they wanted and were able to control the ball. They made one of the tournament's most dangerous attacks look ordinary. Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot, Pedro Porro added the second and France's bid for a third straight final ended without any real threat of a comeback.

Mbappé was unusually direct afterward.

We didn't play the match we wanted to play – whether tactically, technically, or in terms of our overall performance level... We were three against two in midfield, and against Spain, that's hard. Fabián and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and force them to run with us... We were too sloppy technically. Even when we recovered the ball, our first touches were not good enough... When you don't do what you're supposed to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don't win.

England's loss was crueler because the final was right there. Anthony Gordon scored in the 55th minute against Argentina, and for a while, Tuchel's team looked ready to turn a strong tournament into a historic one. Then England backed up. They stopped giving Argentina anything to defend, replaced Gordon with Ezri Konsa, moved into a back five, and tried to hold on for dear life against a team that's made a habit of becoming more dangerous as matches get more miserable.

The numbers from the collapse are almost hard to believe. England had 12% possession in the 30 minutes between Gordon's goal and Argentina's equalizer. In the 19 minutes between Konsa entering and Lautaro Martínez scoring the winner, England completed just four passes. One was the kickoff after Enzo Fernández tied the match. Argentina finally pulled even in the 85th minute, then Martínez headed in the winner in stoppage time.

Tuchel argued that the formation wasn't the real problem. He says England had already become passive before the change and they didn't have enough physicality to reverse the momentum. He may be right about when it started. That doesn't make the retreat any less telling. When England could almost touch the final, its first instinct was to protect what they had instead of continuing to play the same game that got them the lead in the first place.

Now there's nothing left to protect, and that may matter more than any tactical matchup. France doesn't have to spend 20 minutes deciding how much risk they can tolerate against England's counterattack. England doesn't have to react to every Mbappé touch like it could end another World Cup. If the score is level late, neither side benefits from dragging this thing into extra time when everyone is tired and nobody wants another half-hour.

There Are Still Real Stakes Hiding In This Game

The bronze medal is honestly the least interesting thing about this game. For Didier Deschamps, though, Saturday is the end of a pretty ridiculous run that’s lasted nearly half of Mbappé’s life. This will be his 187th and final match in charge of France, wrapping up 14 years that included 121 wins, a World Cup title in 2018, another final in 2022, and three straight semifinal appearances. Oh, and he also captained France to the trophy in 1998. Not bad. There aren’t many people who’ve shaped a national team’s identity at big tournaments the way he has.

This obviously isn’t how he pictured going out. France was one win away from another final and two from giving him a second title as manager. Instead, he’s got one last team talk for a game everyone has basically admitted they’d rather not be playing.

Ibrahima Konaté talked about what this game means for them:

None of us wanted to play for this third place but we have no choice. We want to pay back our coach. He did so much for the France team. We must be grateful to him for that and we need to do everything we can to win this game — to get this chocolate medal, this bronze medal.

Deschamps still tried to keep it grounded, calling it a duty and reminding everyone it’s “not a friendly.” He knows nobody wanted this, but he also made it clear he’s not interested in a big emotional send-off. “The end is near but life goes on,” he said.

Mbappé, meanwhile, has something way more tangible to chase. He’s tied with Messi on eight goals for the Golden Boot, but Messi has the edge with assists. Mbappé is also sitting on 20 World Cup goals in 21 games, which is just absurd, and one behind Messi’s all-time record. One goal ties it before Messi even plays the final. Two puts him on top, at least for a little while.

He could also become the first player to win two Golden Boots after taking it in 2022. Sure, Deschamps could decide to protect him after a long season. But if you’re Mbappé and you’re this close to rewriting the record books, you probably want the ball as much as possible.

England has their own little record chase going on. Kane and Bellingham both have six goals, which already matches the best single-tournament total for England. One more from either of them sets a new record. Two puts them right in the Golden Boot conversation before Messi gets his final say.

England also has a bit of history to deal with. This would be their best World Cup finish since 1966 and their best ever outside of their home turf. They've played in this game twice and lost both times. France has been here three times, won twice and, fittingly, those games have all been chaotic and full of goals. And yeah, there’s still that 2022 quarterfinal hanging around, when Kane scored one penalty and missed another that could’ve forced extra time.

None of this suddenly makes the third-place game feel like the final. It’s not supposed to. But it does give these players something real to play for now that the pressure of winning the whole thing is gone.

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