France-England live: Deschamps bows out in third-place playoff

France faced England in the third-place playoff of the World Cup on July 18, 2026, in Miami, where Didier Deschamps prepared for his final match as the French manager after 14 years of leading the team. Both nations looked to redeem themselves following heartbreaking semi-final defeats. A liveblog provided minute-to-minute commentary on the match.

The official lineups included:

France: Maignan – Gusto, Konaté, Lacroix, T. Hernandez – Zaïre-Emery, Rabiot – Olise, Cherki, Doué – Mbappé (c).
England: Henderson – Quansah, Konsa, Guéhi, Spence – Rice (c), Eze – Saka, Rogers, Rashford – Toney.

At 22:54, the anthems commenced, starting with La Marseillaise, followed by God Save the King. The England team had arrived in Miami at 22:06, and by 22:50, they were warming up on the pitch.

Mbappé paid tribute to Deschamps before the match, stating, "Today is your final dance. You who have given us so much. We should have offered you a better ending, but we failed... Thank you for giving me the chance and opportunity to represent my country... I feel privileged to have stood alongside one of the greatest legends of our country."

In preparation for his farewell match, Deschamps made significant tactical changes. An entirely new defensive line took to the pitch, with Warren Zaïre-Emery earning his first start alongside Rabiot in midfield. Désiré Doué made his first start on the left and Rayan Cherki replaced Michael Olise on the right. Kylian Mbappé led the line, aiming for his eighth goal to maintain his Golden Boot status.

As the match approached, it marked the conclusion of Deschamps’ record-breaking tenure, overseeing his 185th match in charge of Les Bleus. His time as manager concluded on a bittersweet note following their earlier semi-final loss to Spain. Kylian Mbappé also entered the match with the drive to surpass Lionel Messi, who was previously tied with him on eight goals in the quest for the Golden Boot, while attempting to break Messi's all-time World Cup goal record of 21, sitting just one behind with 20.

On the other hand, England was still reeling from their dramatic semi-final loss to Argentina. They had come close to their first World Cup final in 60 years before succumbing to a 2-1 comeback by Argentina, leaving them with minimal enthusiasm for this third-place fixture.