GOOOOAAAALLLL! Is there time for France? Ousmane Dembele cuts in from the right wing and curls it into the net! It's his sixth goal of the 2026 World Cup. Brilliant finish. Less than two minutes of regulation time remains.

90 6' FRA 4-5 ENG

GOOOOAAAAALLLL! It's a World Cup hattrick for Bukayo Saka! He steps up for the penalty and slams it into the bottom-right corner, terrific finish. He becomes only the fourth Englishman to score a hattrick in the World Cup finals.

England's two-goal lead is restored, surely they'll hold on now.

87' FRA 3-5 ENG

PENALTY to England! Djed Spence is brought down by Malo Gusto in the box, and the referee has no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Gusto looks downcast, he does not appeal the decision either.

85' FRA 3-4 ENG

Massive chances at both ends! Jude Bellingham drives forward seconds after coming on, takes a shot in the box, but Maignan denies him! Moments later, France come on the counter, it's a cutback for Olise, who ends up firing it wide! Huge chance goes begging for France.

80' FRA 3-4 ENG

With the bronze medal under threat, England manager Thomas Tuchel has brought on star midfielder Jude Bellingham. Six goals in this World Cup for the 23-year-old. Elliot Anderson also comes on. Out go Eberechi Eze and Ivan Toney. 

79' FRA 3-4 ENG

Kylian Mbappe has now slammed 10 goals in FIFA World Cup 2026, and 22 overall in World Cup history, going past Lionel Messi to become the all-time top-scorer of the competition in history. 

On the other hand, Michael Olise's two assists today takes him past Pele for the most assists by a player in a single World Cup! Seven assists for Olise in this tournament!

GOOOOAAAALLLLL! One more for Mbappe, France have a third! Oh my goodness! Michael Olise with another assist, and Mbappe slams it in on his left foot! From 0-4 down, France have made it 3-4! WOW. WOW. WOW.

66' FRA 3-4 ENG

England denied a fifth goal! Ivan Toney with a superb header from a corner, but Mike Maignan makes a brilliant outstretched save. Excellent from France's goalkeeper to keep the scores at 4-2.

59' FRA 2-4 ENG

Ousmane Dembele should've scored! France's No. 7 is sent clean through on goal, but his left-footed shot is saved by Dean Henderson. France are all over England in the second half, it's a complete reversal of the first half!

56' FRA 2-4 ENG

GOOOOOAAAAALLLL! France pull back another! Kylian Mbappe with a sensational throughball from deep to Bradley Barcola, who beats the England defence for pace and slams in a brilliant finish! 4-2, surely game on!

54' FRA 2-4 ENG

Kylian Mbappe has now taken the lead in the Golden Boot race for FIFA World Cup 2022, beating Lionel Messi. Mbappe now has nine goals, Messi eight.

On the other hand, Michael Olise has equalled Pele's record for the most assists in a single World Cup. Pele had six assists in 1970, Olise has six assists in 2026.

GOOOOAAAALLLL! France pull one back! It's Kylian Mbappe, of course. Michael Olise with a brilliant throughball for Mbappe, splitting the England defence open. Mbappe scores with a lovely left-footed finish. Is a comeback on?

48' FRA 1-4 ENG

We are back! The second half begins in the third-place playoff between France and England. FOUR changes made by Didier Deschamps after the disastrous first half. Out go Cherki, Doue, Theo Hernandez and Konate. In come Ousmane Dembele, Barcola, Digne and Upamecano.

46' FRA 0-4 ENG

This is the first time ever that France have been down by four goals in a FIFA World Cup match. They haven't been down four goals at half-time since 1968!

4 - France have conceded four first half goals for the first time since a EURO qualification match against Yugoslavia in April 1968.

WOW. pic.twitter.com/SePSwONNA8

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 18, 2026

HALF TIME! Third-place playoffs are usually goalfests, and it has been just that. But what has actually happened must've been beyond anyone's imagination. France are down 4-0 at half-time, England have run completely riot in 45 minutes. Declan Rice gave England the lead, assisted Ezri Konsa for the second, and then Bukayo Saka bagged the third and fourth. Phew!

HT | FRA 0-4 ENG

GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL! It's 4-0 to England! A first-half demolition by England. It's the first time that France have ever been four goals behind in a World Cup match. Lovely pass from Eze to Saka, who slams it into the bottom-right corner, brilliant finish!

45 1' FRA 0-4 ENG

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL! ENGLAND LEAD 3-0! Bukayo Saka! France's defence in absolute tatters, Saka sends Rashford clean through on goal but the latter's shot is saved by Mike Maignan. Saka arrives on the rebound and shoots, but that's saved too. Rashford retrieves the rebound again, waits for Saka to get into space, and then the latter slams it in, despite two French players being on the line!

37' FRA 0-3 ENG

Mbappe's shot is saved! The France captain cuts in from the left, feints past two defenders and takes a powerful shot, but England goalkeeper Dean Henderson makes a superb save! Twice in around five minutes, Mbappe has been denied.

35' FRA 0-2 ENG

Powerful shot by Rashford, saved by Mike Maignan! Rashford makes a little bit of room and slams a brilliant strike from outside the box, but Maignan makes a fingertip save! 

33' FRA 0-2 ENG

Lovely throughball to Mbappe whose shot is saved, but the ball goes underneath the goalkeeper and has to be blocked on the goalline by Marc Guehi! The linesman also raised his flag for offside, but Mbappe might've been on, as per the replays.

28' FRA 0-2 ENG

By scoring after just 2 minutes and 14 seconds, Declan Rice netted England's second-quickest goal in FIFA World Cup history! Only Bryan Robson scored a quicker goal in the 1982 edition.

GOOOOAAALLLLLL! England score another! It's centre-back Ezri Konsa who heads it in from a corner. Brilliant delivery by Declan Rice, and Konsa towers over the French defence to score.

18' FRA 0-2 ENG

Another huge chance for England! Bukayo Saka makes the perfect run this time, gets a brilliant pass, he dribbles past Maxence Lacroix and has a shot, but the French defender recovers and puts in a block. Corner for England.

17' FRA 0-1 ENG

France are attacking in numbers now. This match looks like it'll be a goalfest. Olise shapes up for a shot, doesn't get the space, then France create down the left, but Marc Guehi puts in an excellent block. 

14' FRA 0-1 ENG

GOAL RULED OUT! Moments after Rayan Cherki gets a shot blocked at one end, England hit France on the counter-attack. Bukayo Saka skips past his man and finishes it home, but England see the goal disallowed due to offside. 

11' FRA 0-1 ENG

England come on the attack straight away again, a cross from the right to Rashford in the box, who shoots at goal but a deflection gets it out for a corner. France manage to scramble a clearance, and then Mbappe goes through on goal, but the pass to him is underhit and Djed Spence catches up with France's No. 10.

What a frantic start to the match!

8' FRA 0-1 ENG

GOOOOAAAALLLLL! What a start for England in the bronze medal game! Declan Rice drives forward and slams a stunning goal from outside the box! France goalkeeper Mike Maignan was rooted to the spot, Rice picked his spot perfectly. A goal inside three minutes for England.

3' FRA 0-1 ENG

WE ARE LIVE! The third-place playoff between France and England kicks off in Miami, and it's England who get us underway.

1' FRA 0-0 ENG

Time for action! The players are about to enter the pitch at the Miami Stadium. Kylian Mbappe leads France; Declan Rice captains England in Harry Kane's absence. First the national anthems, then live football! 

We are moments away from kickoff in the third-place playoff between France and England at the Miami Stadium. France are favourites to win, given the talent and depth they have. However, England must be motivated to secure their first World Cup medal in 60 years!

Kylian Mbappe is not only aiming to become the first player ever to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice, but he is also one goal behind Lionel Messi in the list of all-time top-scorers in World Cup history. Mbappe is on 20, Messi has 21. Mbappe can take the lead in the all-time race with two goals today.

England manager Thomas Tuchel received heavy criticism for his substitutions in England's 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final. However, he has a chance today to deliver England's first World Cup medal since they won the trophy in 1966.

But, with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham both not playing, England will need their other players to step up and score. Kane and Bellingham have scored 12 of England's 14 goals in this World Cup.

England also have some big names in their starting XI today, despite making seven changes. Wingers Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford will be the main men to watch out for, given their pedigree in the Premier League. Keep an eye on Morgan Rogers too, who is reportedly set to leave Aston Villa for Chelsea in a GBP 117 million deal!

Ahead of the match, France captain and talisman Kylian Mbappe paid a heartfelt tribute to Didier Deschamps on social media. Here's what he wrote:

Aujourd'hui est ta derniere danse.

Toi qui nous as tant donné.
Nous aurions du t'offrir une meilleure fin, mais nous avons échoué.
Mettre des mots sur ce que tu as apporté pendant 14 ans est tres difficile, tant tu as été un acteur majeur du renouveau de cette équipe. Les gens... pic.twitter.com/uGQIWqodgv

— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) July 18, 2026

Today's match will be the final game in charge for France manager Didier Deschamps. Joining the team in 2012, Deschamps helped France recover from a tumultous period. In 2018, he led France to World Cup glory as head coach, becoming only the third ever to win it as player and coach. Add a World Cup silver medal, a Nations League title, a Euros silver medal, and it would be hard to deny that he's the French national team's greatest-ever manager.

Michael Olise's FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign got off to a bang, with five assists in his first four games. It seemed to be a matter of time before Brazil icon Pele's record of the most assists in a single World Cup (six) would be beaten. However, Olise hasn't managed an assist in each of France's last three games. 

However, if he does get an assist today, he will match Pele's record. Two assists, and he will be in a league of his own!

The third-place match is another example of France's sensational depth. Even with seven changes to their starting lineup, several star players are in action. Attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki will be one to watch out for, while new Real Madrid signing Ibrahima Konate is a star name in defence.

France XI vs England: Here's the France starting XI announced by Didier Deschamps to take on England in the third-place playoff. Only four players that started the semi-final against Spain are also in the lineup today, but crucially, two of them are star attackers Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise.

Une derniere bataille. Un dernier objectif.

Voici les 11 Bleus qui débuteront la petite finale face l'Angleterre

23h00 sur M6 & beIN SPORTS 1 #FRAANG | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/r9mkEWbG9p

— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) July 18, 2026

England XI vs France: Here's the England starting XI announced by Thomas Tuchel to take on France in the third-place playoff. Seven changes to the lineup that started the semi-final against Argentina, with star players Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on the bench. There is still a lot of star power, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice starting.

Our XI to face France pic.twitter.com/UexpADmHPr

— England (@England) July 18, 2026

France captain Kylian Mbappe has the chance to do something special: become the first player in FIFA World Cup history to win the Golden Boot (top-scorer award) twice. Mbappe won the Golden Boot in 2022, and is currently second in the race in 2026, trailing Lionel Messi on assists. 

If Mbappe scores one today, he will retake the lead over Messi in the Golden Boot race. Of course, Messi will still play tomorrow in the final between Argentina and Spain, but Mbappe would give himself a very good chance at history.

While the 60-year wait for World Cup glory will become longer for England, they can achieve a bronze medal at the FIFA World Cup for the very first time, if they win today. England also played the World Cup third-place playoff in 2018, but lost 2-0 to Belgium on that occasion. 

France's dreams of a third consecutive World Cup final may have been crushed, but they have the chance to win their third World Cup bronze medal today. Their last bronze medal came back in 1986, when the legendary Michel Platini was the captain of the side.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place playoff between France and England. It is the penultimate game of the biggest sporting event on earth, as both teams battle for the bronze medal. We are at the Miami Stadium today, stay tuned for all the live updates from the match!