# France vs England: World Cup 2026 Third-Place Playoff Set for Miami on Saturday

**By Tomás Ferreira**  \nPublished July 17, 2026  \nUpdated July 17, 2026

> France and England meet in the 2026 World Cup third-place playoff at Miami Stadium on Saturday, July 18, 2026, with kickoff set for 23:00 Italian time, broadcast on Rai 1 HD in Italy and streamed on Rai Play and DAZN.

France and England will meet in the 2026 FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at the Miami Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 23:00 Italian time. The match, the only consolation game of the knockout phase, will be broadcast live in Italy on Rai 1 HD and streamed on Rai Play (free) and DAZN (subscription), according to Italian outlets covering the fixture.

## The match neither side planned to play

Both sides reached the consolation match after semifinal defeats earlier in the week. France, which topped Group I and then eliminated Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco in the knockout rounds, was stopped in the penultimate round by Spain. England, winner of Group L, came through ties against the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico and Norway before being eliminated by Argentina in the semifinals.

According to reports citing the tournament schedule, the third-place match is the final fixture of the 2026 World Cup's consolation stage, played the day before the final between Spain and Argentina. The 2026 edition is the first World Cup to feature 48 teams, expanding the knockout bracket and producing a longer consolation program than in previous tournaments.

## Bronze is not a friendly

Third-place playoffs at World Cups are historically treated as fixtures neither side truly wants, and the Gazzetta dello Sport headline summed up the mood as "The World Cup Third-Place Play-Off Nobody Wants." Despite that framing, the match still awards a bronze medal and offers both federations a chance to leave the tournament with a tangible result after semifinal exits. For France, the game provides a final test of a squad that dominated its group and rolled through the early knockout rounds before running into Spain. For England, it is a chance to recover from a semifinal loss to Lionel Messi's Argentina and close the campaign with a win.

## How each side got to Miami

### France’s short turnaround

- **Group stage:** Won Group I.
- **Round of 16:** Beat Sweden.
- **Quarterfinals:** Beat Paraguay.
- **Semifinals:** Beat Morocco before falling to Spain.

### England’s response after the semifinal

- **Group stage:** Won Group L.
- **Round of 16:** Beat the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a Harry Kane brace featured in highlights circulated by DAZN.
- **Quarterfinals:** Beat Mexico.
- **Semifinals:** Beat Norway before losing to Argentina.DAZN's tournament coverage has been built around the expanded 48-team format, with all 104 matches of the competition broadcast on the platform. The third-place match is part of that final package.

## How to watch in Italy

- **TV (free-to-air):** Rai 1 HD, with pre- and post-match coverage.
- **Streaming (free):** Rai Play.
- **Streaming (subscription):** DAZN.Coverage across the three outlets begins in the hour before kickoff, with build-up programming already promoted by DAZN and Rai ahead of the final weekend of the tournament.

## The decisive choices come before kickoff

- **The final:** Spain vs Argentina, the day after the third-place match, will decide the 2026 World Cup title.
- **Selection decisions:** Both managers face late-tournament questions over rotation, minutes for key players and injury management, with the third-place game coming only days after emotionally heavy semifinal defeats.
- **Tactical contrast:** France's run to the semifinals featured a sequence of comfortable knockout wins, while England's path included multiple comeback performances, including a Kane-led rally against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 16.
- **Closing the tournament:** For both federations, a third-place finish offers a small but real reward and a cleaner ending to a tournament in which neither side managed to reach the final.

## Sources

- [www.dazn.com](https://www.dazn.com/it-IT/home) — original
- [www.gazzetta.it](https://www.gazzetta.it/en/football/world-cup/16-07-2026/france-v-england-the-world-cup-third-place-play-off-nobody-wants.shtml) — original
- [www.dazn.com](https://www.dazn.com/it-IT/news/calcio/mondiali-2026-partite-oggi-come-vedere-diretta-streaming/1wiydssce3isi16hn8sq6ti4dk) — original
- [www.zazoom.it](https://www.zazoom.it/2026-07-16/dove-vedere-in-tv-francia-inghilterra-finale-3-4-posto-mondiali-calcio-2026-orario-canale-streaming/19466273/) — original
- [sport2u.tv](https://sport2u.tv/finale-3-posto-mondiali-2026-francia-inghilterra-data-orario-e-dove-vederla-in-tv/) — original