France and England are playing for pride and third place in the World Cup, as Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane make final bids for the golden boot.Follow all the action in our live blog.PinnedSun 19 Jul 2026 at 7:00amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 7:00amFrance vs England liveCollapse all postsFilter PostsAll9Key Events5Goals1Key EventSun 19 Jul 2026 at 7:03amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 7:03amDECLAN RICE SCORES A SCREAMER FOR ENGLANDBy Dean BiltonBarely two minutes into the game!Doue played a sloppy pass across midfield which was read by Rice. The Arsenal man took the ball on without being closed down at all, and was invited to take a shot from the edge of the penalty area.Rice whipped that brilliantly across Maignan, who did not even move as it crashed into the bottom corner. Stunning goal. 1-0 England.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 7:01amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 7:01amReady to go in MiamiBy Dean BiltonThe players have taken the field, sung the anthems and now taken their positions. I should point out that when Thomas Tuchel's name was read out, there were some significant boos from the English contingent in the crowd.France kick us off, boot it into touch and look to set up the press. Here we go.Key EventSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:49amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:49amThe Golden Boot pictureBy Dean Bilton(Getty Images)There was no chance Kylian Mbappe was going to sit this one out, not when there are goals to be scored and a Golden Boot to be won.Mbappe is currently level with Lionel Messi on eight goals, one ahead of Erling Haaland who has long since headed home.Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are another one back on six goals, but neither of those players are starting this one. Nor is Ousmane Dembele, who has five goals.Remember, if two players end up on the same amount of goals, then assists become the Golden Boot tiebreaker. Messi currently has four assists to Mbappe's three, so expect Kylian to be shooting on sight this morning as he tries to goose those numbers a little.The other sideshow is the all-time World Cup goal-scoring charts. Messi claimed that record early in this tournament and currently sits on top with 21, but Mbappe is hot on his heels with 20. Mbappe will no doubt top Messi one day, but could he leave the 2026 World Cup with the record in the bag?Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:39amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:39amA big day for Morgan RogersBy Dean Bilton(Getty Images)He starts in midfield today, seemingly in a deeper role alongside Declan Rice.But the big Morgan Rogers news which broke in the last few hours is that he seems set for a record-breaking transfer to Chelsea from Aston Villa. A fee of £117 million ($225 million) will make him the most expensive English player of all time, just ahead of Elliot Anderson who moved only a couple of weeks ago to Manchester City for £116 million.Crazy money. He had looked most likely to move to Arsenal this summer, but they wouldn't be getting close to a fee like that. And probably quite right too. Let's see how that hoopla affects Rogers' performance this morning.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:28amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:28amHow hyped are France and England for this game?By Dean BiltonIt's still the World Cup, some of the best players in the world all in the same spot, millions of eyeballs on you ... surely there is some excitement from the respective teams for this one? Right, Ibrahima Konate?"None of us wanted to play in this game for third place, but we don't have a choice to play."Oh. Well, what about you, England manager Thomas Tuchel?"Nobody wants to be, tomorrow, in this game."Bah. Surely Didier Deschamps, in what will be his final game as France boss, can muster some enthusiasm?"We do have a match for the third-place playoff, and there's a duty. We have duties. I have duties, my staff has duties and so do the players."I'll take it.Key EventSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:22amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:22amA fair few changes for FranceBy Dean BiltonIt's not the sort of wholesale turnover of England, but some decent rotation here from the French.Kylian Mbappe starts, and he will be absolutely starving for the goals today as he hunts the Golden Boot and the overall record ahead of Lionel Messi's last crack at it tomorrow. Michael Olise also starts, because somebody has to feed the beast.But there is no Ousmane Dembele, replaced by Rayan Cherki, and Desire Doue has come back in for Bradley Barcola (I think France has looked better with Doue on the left ahead of Barcola all tournament, but what do I know?).Warren Zaire-Emery starts in midfield, which is fun, and Lucas Digne is bombed out after his horror show against Spain, replaced by Theo Hernandez at left back.Key EventSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:17amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:17amMass changes for England's starting XIBy Dean BiltonOnly four players remain from the defeat to Argentina: Declan Rice, Marc Guehi, Djed Spence and Morgan Rogers.Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham both sit it out, despite being part of that Golden Boot race. Jordan Pickford also misses out, which according to the many genius experts on social media and in English punditry will solve all of England's woes at a stroke.There are chances for Ivan Toney up front, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka on the wings and Eberechi Eze in the 10. Dean Henderson will play in goal.Key EventSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:10amSun 19 Jul 2026 at 6:10amWelcome to the 'Bronze Final' – France vs EnglandBy Dean Bilton(Getty Images)Good morning, and welcome back to ABC Sport's live blog coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. We have reached the penultimate game of the tournament, an illustrious occasion that we've all had circled on our fixture lists for months.That's right, it's the third-place playoff.France and England lost their semifinals last week, but instead of being allowed to fly home and commence a fortnight on their yachts or in a nightclub or whatever it is these boys do in their free time, they have to play one more game. A game for third, just to really rub the noses into the semifinal failure.But there is pride to play for, and for Kylian Mbappe at least the chance to win the Golden Boot and perhaps go past Lionel Messi as the World Cup's greatest ever scorer. For now.It should be fun, anyway. France and England pretty much guarantees that. So let's go.