Let's not pretend. Thomas Tuchel said it himself this week: "Nobody of [England's] players, nobody of the French players wants to play for this match. They want to play in the final." Both teams arrive here forty-eight hours removed from the two worst nights of their tournament — England blowing a 1-0 lead in the final seven minutes against Argentina, France comprehensively outclassed by Spain without ever really landing a punch. Nobody is pretending this is the match either federation circled on the calendar back in June.
And yet FIFA keeps playing it anyway, for reasons that are equal parts tradition and spreadsheet: third place is officially recorded in FIFA's tournament history, and it is worth real money — a reported $29 million for finishing third against $27 million for finishing fourth. Two million dollars of institutional motivation, on top of whatever personal pride either dressing room can still find. History says that's usually more than enough: with nothing existential on the line, third-place matches have a habit of being some of the most open, entertaining games of any World Cup, precisely because nobody is scared to lose them.
Expect wholesale changes from the France that lost to Spain — fringe squad members getting their World Cup minutes, Deschamps using his final team sheet as a farewell gift to players who won't see the pitch again this tournament. The one certainty is Mbappé's inclusion, and everything about France's approach will likely funnel toward getting him service in dangerous areas early and often.
Tuchel has already been publicly honest that this fixture holds little appeal, and England are expected to make wholesale changes of their own — a mix of pride, fitness management, and giving squad players who've barely featured a genuine World Cup appearance before they fly home. Whether Kane starts to chase his own personal numbers, or is rested entirely after a difficult semifinal, is the one selection question that actually matters.
Kylian Mbappé gets the first chapter of his story in the 12th minute, latching onto a through ball and finishing calmly past a heavily rotated England back line — his 21st career World Cup goal, tying Lionel Messi's all-time record outright. Harry Kane answers almost immediately in the 24th, a trademark poacher's finish leveling it at 1-1, before Jude Bellingham, still chasing his own tournament redemption, curls England ahead 2-1 right on the stroke of halftime. This "meaningless" match is, somehow, an absolute shootout.
The second half belongs to Mbappé. In the 58th minute he gets his second of the afternoon — his 22nd career World Cup goal, breaking Messi's all-time record outright, and his 10th of the tournament, a two-goal cushion at the top of the Golden Boot with only Messi's final left to be played. Nine minutes later, substitute Ryan Cherki pounces on a loose ball to make it 3-2 France, part of Deschamps' wholesale second-half rotation finally paying off.
England refuse to fold quietly: Eberechi Eze, on for the final half hour, drills in an equalizer in the 79th minute to make it 3-3 and set up a genuinely chaotic finish to a match nobody wanted. It's Jean-Philippe Mateta who has the last word, turning in a rebound in the 88th minute for France's fourth. France win 4-3, claim third place and the extra two million dollars nobody will ever mention again, and send Didier Deschamps out of the French dugout with a victory — and Mbappé out of Miami as the outright greatest goalscorer in World Cup history — in his final match in charge.
His 21st career World Cup goal ties Messi's all-time record; his 22nd, in the second half, breaks it outright — and gives him a two-goal Golden Boot cushion with only Messi's final left to play.
An immediate reply, a trademark close-range finish adding to his own newly-set England World Cup scoring record.
Curls England ahead right before halftime — a rare bright spot in an otherwise rough week for him personally.
A substitute's finish from a loose ball — the kind of moment this match exists to hand a fringe player.
Turns in a rebound as a late substitute for the actual winner — a first World Cup goal to remember.
A late equalizer to make it 3-3, before France's final sting in the tail.
Eliminated from the trophy, but one goal from becoming the outright greatest scorer in World Cup history. If there's a reason this fixture matters at all, it's him.