Why England won’t get the FIFA prize The Three Lions got an award for making it to the World Cup semi-final in 1990
Even though England has made it to the World Cup semi-finals and will play two more games, they aren’t guaranteed a prize from FIFA. The Three Lions have reached the last four for the fourth time in the World Cup’s 96-year history. They’ll face Argentina in an exciting game in Atlanta on Wednesday.
This match is a big deal since England and Argentina haven’t played each other since a friendly match in 2005. It also brings back memories of their famous World Cup battles in 1986 and 1998.
After a tough win against Norway in Miami, England will play at least one more game, even if they lose to Argentina. Just like in 2018, when they lost to Croatia, England will play in the third place match. Back then, Gareth Southgate’s team lost 2-0 to Belgium and finished fourth.
England also finished fourth in 1990 after losing on penalties to Germany and then losing 2-1 to Italy in the third place play-off. That time, they actually received bronze medals for finishing fourth. Players like Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker got the same medals as the Italians, and both teams posed together on the podium.
Getting a fourth-place medal is pretty rare at the World Cup and in sports overall, but England isn’t the only team to have gotten one. In 2002, South Korea made a surprise run to the semi-finals, beating big teams like Italy and Spain. They lost to Germany and then to Turkey in the third place match but were given medals afterward.
Since then, only the teams that finish first, second, and third get medals. England didn’t get any in 2018, and it looks like there won’t be any special exceptions this year either. When asked, a FIFA spokesperson said the rules only give medals to the top three teams.
The third place play-off started back in 1934 when Germany beat Austria 3-2. In the very first World Cup, there wasn’t a play-off; third and fourth were decided by overall performance. The play-off has been part of every World Cup since 1954, and Germany holds the record for the most third-place finishes.
This year, the third place game will be on July 18 in Miami. For the teams playing, it’s a chance for their star players to score more goals and finish the tournament on a high note.