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.

Didier Deschamps faces his final match as France manager in the 2026 World Cup third-place playoff against Argentina or England.

Les Bleus saw a perfect World Cup run ended by a recurring foe.