Here’s everything you should know about the World Cup third-place match!
England will face two-time World Cup winners France in the much-maligned third-place play-off match on Saturday, as both teams aim to bounce back from the heartbreak of their semi-final losses.
Thomas Tuchel’s French side faltered late in their match against Argentina, conceding goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez that sent La Albiceleste to a second straight World Cup final.
A day earlier, early favorites France were surprisingly beaten by European champions Spain, after some strong performances in recent weeks from Les Bleus.
Now, both teams want to end their World Cup runs on a high by winning what FIFA calls the “bronze final.”
France will make their fourth appearance in this match, having won third place twice before (1958, 1986) and lost once (1982). England will be playing for the bronze medal for the third time, after defeats to Italy in 1990 and Belgium in 2018.
For fans worried about this game, there is some good news — the third-place matches often have plenty of goals. Since Poland’s 1-0 win over Brazil in 1974, every bronze final has seen at least two goals, so it should be an entertaining game.
There’s also a nice prize for the winner. The team that takes third place will earn $30 million (£22m), while the fourth-place team gets $28 million (£20m).
To compare, the tournament winner gets $51 million (£38m), and the runner-up receives $34 million (£25m).
England’s first time in the third-place match was back in 1990, after losing to West Germany on penalties. Bobby Robson’s team lost 2-1 to host Italy, with goals from Roberto Baggio and Toto Schillaci either side of David Platt’s strike.
Their second time came in 2018, where Belgium beat England 2-1 with goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard.
In the last tournament, Croatia secured third place in 2022 by beating Morocco 2-1, thanks to first-half goals from Josko Gvardiol and Mislav Orsic.
After the match, Croatia’s coach Zlatko Dalic was overjoyed: “We won the bronze medal and it has a golden layer, it is like we have won the gold medal tonight,” he said. “Losing the third-place play-off would have been a disaster. This marks the end of a chapter. My players gave everything, and this is what we worked for.”
Here’s a look at the third-place winners from the last 20 years.
The game kicks off at 5pm local time (10pm BST in the UK) and will be live on BBC One.