The Three Lions are fighting for pride in the World Cup third place play-off, but Kylian Mbappe's wounded France will not be an easy opponent. We took to EA FC 26 to predict the result22:29, 17 Jul 2026It’s been repeatedly referred to as the game nobody wants to play in. And yet, England have a chance to secure their second-best ever World Cup finish in the third place play-off against France.‌Having made it to this stage twice before, in 1990 and 2018, England have never won the third-place play-off - or as FIFA are insists on calling it, the ‘bronze final’. And both sides have to brush off their devastation, however, as they meet for fourth time at the World Cup.‌England have won two of those encounters, but France claimed victory in the most recent when they knocked the Three Lions out of the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 quarter final win.‌So how will England fare against a France team that, a week ago, looked likely to win the tournament for a third time? We took to EA FC 26 to find out.England starting line-up v France simulated by EA FC 26Thomas Tuchel might feel tempted to ring the changes given how little is at stake. The England head coach has come under serious scrutiny for his tactical decisions against Argentina and he may want to give fringe players minutes before heading home.‌However, the simulation predicted a starting line-up consistent with previous selections. Djed Spence started in place of the injured Reece James at right-back and Morgan Rogers kept his place on the right wing in favour of a half-fit Bukayo Saka.England simulated starting XI v France: Jordan Pickford; Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham; Morgan Rogers, Harry Kane, Anthony Gordon.England v France World Cup third place play-off simulated by EA FC 26Would the elimination hangover plague the Three Lions? It appeared so in the early stages as England found themselves up against a barrage of French attacks.‌It took less than 10 minutes for France to find themselves ahead. Spence was harshly penalised for a tackle on Adrien Rabiot in the box, and Mbappe made no mistake from the spot to put France ahead.England could have sunk within themselves further, wallowing in self-pity. Instead, the sleeping lions awoke.England battled on, surprising France somewhat, before finally equalising on 29 minutes. It was Rogers’ direct running that earned a leveller, as the Aston Villa man drove past his man and into the box before powering a shot beyond Maignan to make it 1-1.‌Unfortunately, another dubious penalty was awarded for France four minutes later following a Marc Guehi handball. Jordan Pickford committed far too early and Mbappe easily reclaimed the lead.The game was wide open at this point as. Three minutes later, Maignan made a wonder save to deny Kane from 12 yards but there was more drama before half-time.‌Maignan stopped Anthony Gordon from equalising at a loose ball that bobbled to Bellingham with the goal begging. His shot hit Lucas Digne’s arm and England had a penalty of their own.But Kane failed to make amends for his agonising 2022 spot-kick miss against the French as he crashed his shot against the post and France cleared the danger. It remained 2-1 at the break.Matters worsened for England after half-time. Mbappe was on hand to extend the lead five minutes into the second period, volleying expertly past Pickford from a perfect Jules Kounde cross.‌But this topsy-turvy match had yet another twist. Elliot Anderson finished emphatically into the top left corner from 15 yards after an audacious backhell assist from his captain on 54 minutes.France retreated somewhat after this, allowing England to keep the ball toothlessly. Unable to break down an organised France defence, England still needed Pickford to produce a fantastic save to stop Mbappe making it four.‌But the creative forces were unable to hold up their end of the bargain and England suffered another defeat.England v France result simulated by EA FC 26France 3 - 2 EnglandShould this simulation come to life, it’d be arguably the greatest advert for a third-place play-off since 2010’s 3-2 battle between Germany and Uruguay.‌While it makes for an entertaining end to to England’s World Cup exploits, it is disheartening nonetheless. But the hardest part of this latest painful chapter of 60 years of hurt is the fact that elimination was entirely avoidable - it was a self-implosion that never needed to happen.Article continues below