On the night of Sunday, July 19, a match for third place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. In this consolation final, two top national teams, who were tipped to reach the main final of the quadrennial tournament, will face off — France and England.
A Catastrophe One Step Away from the Dream
Both teams suffered heavy defeats in the semi-finals. The French, led by Kylian Mbappe, could do nothing against the tight pressing of Spain, losing 0-2. The English managed to squander a victory against Argentina in the final minutes, losing 1-2. Despite the fact that the match for "bronze" is often called a game that no one wants to play, the opponents are not lacking in motivation.
The End of the Deschamps Era
For France, this match becomes a historic moment and the finale of the Didier Deschamps era. The head coach is leaving his post after the tournament and has a chance to complete a full set of awards from the last three World Cups: after the "gold" of 2018 and the "silver" of 2022, he is missing only a bronze medal.
For England under Thomas Tuchel, this is an opportunity to break an unpleasant tradition. The "Three Lions" have played in third-place matches at World Cups twice in history and lost both times — in 1990 and 2018.
The Battle for the Golden Boot
This match will be decisive in the fight for the status of the tournament's top scorer. While Lionel Messi (8 goals) prepares for the final, Kylian Mbappe, who has the same number of goals, has a chance to win the "Golden Boot" outright.
The English leaders, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, also have a chance. Both have 6 goals, so to win the award, they need to score a hat-trick against Mike Maignan. This will be very difficult to do against the numerically weakened but still solid French defense, which will be without the injured William Saliba in this match.
Where to Watch the Game
Live broadcasting of the match in Ukraine will be available on the Megogo media service (channel "Megogo Football 1"). The pre-match studio will start at 23:20, and the opening whistle of the Venezuelan referee Jesus Valenzuela will sound exactly at 0:00 Kyiv time. Vadym Skichko and Vadym Shevyakin will commentate on the consolation final.
