France vs England FIFA World Cup 2026 Preview: Everything you need to know

Comprehensive match preview of France vs England at World Cup 2026. We talk tactics, team news and more ahead of this third place playoff clash in Miami.

World Cup - Bronze

Miami Stadium

It's the match no player truly wants to be a part of when France and England contest the bronze medal match at the World Cup.

France vs England kicks off on 18 Jul 2026 at 15:00 EST and 22:00 GMT.

How did the teams get here, and what went wrong?

France and England both had realistic designs on going all the way in 2026, so a contest for third at the 2026 World Cup will sting them and their supporters. 2018 champions and 2022 runners-up, France, looked the part all tournament, notably in an imperious 2-0 quarter-final win over an excellent Morocco side, but they were thoroughly outplayed by European champions Spain in a painful 2-0 semi-final defeat.

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England has been consistently solid in recent years, making five consecutive quarter-final appearances at major tournaments. However, falling at the semi-final hurdle again will hurt the Three Lions, who lost the Euro 2024 final to an excellent Spanish side. Lionel Messi came up clutch for Argentina in Wednesday's epic final-four clash, as he so often does, providing two late assists for Enzo Fernandez on 85 minutes and Lautaro Martinez's 92nd-minute winner. All of this, after Anthony Gordon had given England the lead on 55 minutes. It's tough to predict how both managers will line up their sides, but rotation is to be expected. One man who definitely misses out for France is Arsenal's William Saliba, who came off hurt against Spain.

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Likely France XI

Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Lacroix, Digne; Koné, Rabiot; Doué; Olise, Barcola; Mbappé.

Likely England XI

Pickford; Konsa, Guehi, Burn, O'Reilly; Anderson, Mainoo; Madueke, Rogers, Gordon; Kane.

Key stats

France skipper Kylian Mbappé is one of two players in history to score seven or more goals in two separate World Cups.
Thirteen of France’s last 16 wins came by 2+ goal margins.
France boss Didier Deschamps takes charge of a record-breaking 26th match at the finals here.
France's Michael Olise has assisted five goals at these finals, needing just one more to equal Pelé’s all-time record of six in a single World Cup edition
Only one of the 14 goals England notched at this year's finals was scored by a player who featured in the English Premier League last season. That was Anthony Gordon, who's now on the books of Barcelona.

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France 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Robin Risser (Lens), Brice Samba (Rennes).

Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (Paris St-Germain), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Fenerbahçe), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris St-Germain).

Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (Paris St-Germain), Rayan Cherki (Man City), Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain), Desire Doue (Paris St-Germain), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Jean-Phillippe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).

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England 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona on loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).