France and England will face off in the World Cup third-place game on Saturday, as both teams failed to win their semifinal matchups and advance to the tournament finals. France lost to Spain in the semifinals, while England lost to Argentina.
So both are playing for a consolation prize Saturday at Miami Stadium. But the third-place match is for more than just avoiding finishing fourth in the history books, however. There’s something on the line, even if it’s not the World Cup trophy.
Four players participating in the third-place game of the 2026 World Cup are in the race for the Golden Boot. France forward Kylian Mbappé has the current lead with eight goals, tied overall with Argentina’s Lionel Messi. But England forward Harry Kane and midfielder Jude Bellingham have six goals a piece, as does France forward Ousmane Dembélé.
While Mbappé is ahead as of now, a huge game from one of these other three players could vault them to the top of the leaderboard and at least give them a chance at the Golden Boot this World Cup.
The four remaining teams in the World Cup each receive a monetary prize, but final placement determines just how much money a team will earn. The fourth-place team in the 2026 World Cup will earn $27 million, while the third-place team gets an additional $2 million in the bank, at $29 million.
England’s best-ever World Cup finish came in 1966, when it won the tournament for the first and only time. That is also the lone time that England reached the final, and in two previous trips to the semis, a fourth-place finish was the end result, most recently in 2018.
For France, this is the final match coached by Didier Deschamps, who won the World Cup leading France in 2018. What better way to go out than with a win?
