Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sports Editor
ENGLAND and France will battle for third place at the FIFA World Cup when they meet at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, on Saturday.
The bronze medal play-off offers both sides an opportunity to end their campaigns on a positive note after falling short in the semi-finals.
England were edged 2-1 by defending champions Argentina, while France suffered a 2-0 defeat to European champions Spain.
For England, the match comes amid growing scrutiny of manager Thomas Tuchel, who was appointed with the primary objective of winning the World Cup but has fallen short of taking the Three Lions to the final.
France, meanwhile, will bid farewell to Didier Deschamps, who takes charge of Les Bleus for the final time after 14 years at the helm.
Deschamps guided France to the 2018 FIFA World Cup title, led them to the 2022 final, where they lost to Argentina on penalties, and reached the UEFA Euro 2016 final.
There is also individual silverware at stake, with France captain Kylian Mbappé still in contention for the Golden Boot.
Mbappé has scored eight goals, level with Argentina captain Lionel Messi, although Messi leads the standings on the tie-break with four assists compared to Mbappé’s three.
England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham remain outside contenders after scoring six goals each.
Victory will ensure either England or France leaves the tournament with a podium finish before attention shifts to Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.
