MIAMI: France and England will bid a gloomy farewell to the World Cup on Saturday when they face each other in the dreaded third-place play-off in Miami.
Both teams head to Florida still raw from semifinal defeats that have left both footballing nations licking wounds, which, in the eyes of many, were largely self-inflicted.
France, the tournament’s outstanding team en route to the last four, were anonymous in the face of a tactical masterclass by Spain on Tuesday and slumped to a 2-0 defeat.
England added another chapter to their long history of World Cup heartache on Wednesday when they surrendered the initiative and a lead to lose 2-1 to Argentina in Atlanta.
France and England must now attempt to summon the remnants of their competitive will and physical reserves for a game that is widely disliked throughout football.
