While France and England may have fallen short of reaching the final, they still have something to play for.
The two European powerhouses will play for bronze in the World Cups third-place game at Miami Stadium on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX.
France fell short of reaching their third straight World Cup final when they 2-0 on Tuesday. The French had dominated throughout the World Cup prior to the loss to Spain.
France had won by multiple goals in all but one of their six victories leading into the semifinal, a Round of 16 win over Paraguay. In seven World Cup games, they only allowed a total of four goals.
Spains first goal in the semifinal came off a critical mistake. Veteran defender Lucas Digne misread the ball and challenged a ball on a cross, but kicked Lamine Yamal instead, committing a foul giving Spain a penalty kick in the 22nd minute.
Mikel Oyarzabal stepped up for Spain and buried the penalty kick, giving the Spaniards a lead they wouldnt relinquish.
Pedro Porro doubled the lead for Spain in the 58th minute, when he broke through the French defense and found the back of net after beating France goalkeeper Mike Maignan on a crisp pass from Dani Olmo.
The French desperately tried to get back into the game, but the Spanish defense was too sound for them to break through. Spain held on for a historic sixth shutout of this World Cup.
For England, they were about 35 minutes plus stoppage time from advancing to the World Cup final after taking a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute.
Anthony Gordon scored when he buried a cross from Morgan Rogers to put England on the board with an acrobatic finish. Harry Kane sparked the counter with a long pass that left the Argentina defense flummoxed for the first time all game.
Unfortunately for England, it was all Argentina after that. After falling behind, the Argentines made a furious push to tie the game.
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Argentina was held off the scoresheet for 85 minutes, and finally broke through when Lionel Messi set up Enzo Fernandez just outside of the penalty box, and the 25-year-old hooked a shot around England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford into the back of the net to knot it at 1-1.
Lautaro Martinez then played the hero as he came off the bench and into Argentine soccer lore by scoring the winning goal in stoppage time. In the 92nd minute, Messi recorded his second assist after he gathered a loose ball and played a beautiful pass into the penalty area, where Martinez was waiting unmarked. Martinez headed the ball past Pickford to send the Argentine fans into a frenzy as they completed the comeback.
Argentina’s comeback ended the Three Lions’ bid for a World Cup title, but England can still win bronze by beating France on Saturday.
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