Updated 6m ago
England face France in 2026 World Cup third-place play-off game: Live updates
Follow live as England and France meet in Miami in the third-place play-off at the 2026 World Cup.
The Athletic Live Team
July 18, 2026 at 10:13 AM EDT
France vs England
France and England meet in the World Cup third place play-off match in Miami today
Didier Deschamps is taking charge of France for the final time after his side’s 2-0 defeat against Spain in the first semi-final
England, meanwhile, are looking to end their World Cup on a positive note after squandering a late lead in the 2-1 defeat to Argentina a day later
- Kick-off: 5pm ET, 10pm BST
- TV: FOX, Fubo (try for free), BBC (UK)
- Join the discuss tab or email us your thoughts: live@theathletic.com
Today’s referee
Jesus Valenzuela will take charge of his fourth game of the tournament and his first since the round of 32, when he oversaw Norway’s 2-1 defeat of Ivory Coast
The 42-year-old from Venezuela is appearing at his second World Cup after officiating two matches at the previous edition in 2022: England’s goalless group-stage draw with the United States and France’s 3-1 win against Poland in the last 16
FIFA listed since 2013, Valenzuela drew criticism from former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba on X for waving away Ivory Coast’s penalty claims against Norway over an Andreas Schjelderup challenge on Nicolas Pepe, though the VAR did not recommend a review
Today’s match will represent Valenzuela’s most high-profile appearance to date, having also officiated two group-stage matches at this tournament: Australia 2-0 Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Qatar
Join the conversation!
The World Cup is drawing to a close but we still want to hear from you
Who is winning today’s game? What’s next for both these teams? Is it worth having a third place play-off?
And if you can’t resist looking ahead to tomorrow’s final between Spain and Argentina, who is lifting the trophy?
Send us your thoughts in the ‘Discuss’ tab or by emailing live@theathletic.com and we will do our best to feature your answers in our live coverage
We’re looking forward to reading what you’ve got for us
The last meeting between France and England
As Jack just mentioned, these two teams met at the last World Cup, though in very different circumstances
It was the quarter-finals in Qatar and defending champions France progressed to the final four after goals from Aurelien TchouameniandOlivier Giroud in a 2-1 victory
Harry Kane converted a penalty in between those French goals but missed a late spot kick which would have drawn England level
France went on to reach the final where they lost to Argentina on penalties
The history between France and England
England beat France 2-0 en route to World Cup glory in 1966 and then repeated the dose in a 1982 group game, when Bryan Robson scored one of the fastest goals in tournament history after just 27 seconds
The third World Cup meeting between the sides took place four years ago in Qatar, and ended in a 2-1 defeat for England at the quarter-final stage
There have also been five England-France matches at the European Championship (three draws, two French wins). Indeed, factor in friendlies and the rivalry has skewed France’s way in recent years: England have won just one of the past encounters against the French, a friendly at Wembley in 2015
How England got here
England’s progress wasn’t entirely smooth sailing prior to the semi-final, but they had shown moments of excellence and gritty resolve
They beat Croatia and Panama in the groups, either side of a goalless draw against Ghana, then rallied late on against DR Congo, dug deep against Mexico, and needed extra time to get past Norway in the knockouts
Targeting a first World Cup final in 60 years, Thomas Tuchel’s side were perfectly poised an hour into their fiery semi-final against Argentina, with Anthony Gordon’s second-half finish putting them ahead
But from there, the manager’s tactics backfired spectacularly. Defensive changes invited wave upon wave of Argentinian attack, and eventually the pressure told: Enzo Fernandez levelled with an effort from distance before Lautaro Martinez headed the reigning champions in front, both assisted by Lionel Messi
How France got here
France were seen as favourites for much of the World Cup, largely untroubled before their semi-final against Spain
They were unbeaten in the groups, seeing off Senegal, Iraq, and a rotated Norway side, before scoring six unanswered goals against Sweden, Paraguay, and Morocco across three knockout games
But everything unravelled when France met Spain on Tuesday. Their all-star front line was stifled, they were outplayed in Dallas and fell to a 2-0 defeat behind a penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a second-half strike from Pedro Porro
It was a crushing end to their high-flying aspirations for the tournament
Today’s venue
We’re at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for today’s game — the 67,518-seat venue which is home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins
This the seventh and final World Cup game hosted in Miami. France are yet to play here, while England defeated Norway 2-1 after extra time in the quarter-final in this stadium
There is no roof on Hard Rock Stadium, so players will be exposed to the warm and potentially inclement weather expected during today’s game. Storms and showers are forecast in Miami throughout the weekend
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Sure, the World Cup is wrapping up but that doesn’t mean other sports slow down. MLB regular season is still progressing, with the trade deadline approaching. NBA and NHL offseasons are in full swing with NFL training camp on the horizon
College football will be starting soon and yes, don’t forget about the new Premier League season and the U.S. Open in tennis
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How to watch France vs England
As well as following our live coverage here, you can watch today’s game on the following channels
- U.S.: FOX, Fubo (try for free)
- UK: BBC
- Canada: TSN
- Australia: SBS
What time is kick-off?
Today’s game gets underway at 5pm ET in Miami, which is 2pm PT on the west coast of the United States
In the UK, that’s 10pm BST
Welcome to our live coverage!
Hello and welcome to The Athletic’s live coverage of the third place play-off between France and England
Neither side will have wanted to find themselves in Miami for today’s game, having been within touching distance of the final earlier this week
But France’s 2-0 defeat against Spain and England’s 2-1 loss to Argentina means these two teams have one more fixture to determine who gets the tournament’s bronze medal
Stick with us as for all the build-up ahead of kick-off, as well as looking at where it all went wrong for France and England in their semi-final defeats
