England v France: 2026 World Cup Third-Place Play-off Preview
England meet France in the 2026 FIFA World Cup third-place play-off, the game FIFA now brands the bronze final, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday 18 July 2026, kick-off 10pm BST. Both nations arrive carrying the same disappointment: England were beaten 2-1 by Argentina and France lost 2-0 to Spain in the semi-finals, so Saturday is a chance to finish the tournament on the podium rather than in the final. You can follow every knockout result on our World Cup 2026 fixtures and stats page.
What is at stake
For Thomas Tuchel’s side there is more than pride on offer. Victory would give England their best World Cup finish in 60 years, bettered only by the 1966 triumph, and would end a dismal record in this specific fixture: England have lost both of their previous third-place play-offs, going down 2-1 to Italy in 1990 and 2-0 to Belgium in 2018. There is a Golden Boot subplot too. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham sit on six goals each, two behind Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi on eight, so a big afternoon in Miami could still swing the individual race.
The head-to-head at a glance
Saturday will be the 33rd meeting between the countries. England lead the all-time record with 17 wins to France’s 10, with 5 draws from the 32 games played since 1923, a win record of just under 61 per cent. England have scored 72 goals and conceded 41. The full match-by-match record, every result, scorer, line-up, manager, venue and competition, is set out in the table below.
The last meeting
England will not need reminding of the last time the sides met. France won 2-1 in the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a night defined by Harry Kane’s late penalty miss, which gives a competitive edge to a game neither manager pretended to relish. It was one of only three World Cup meetings between the countries, following England’s 2-0 win in the 1966 group stage and their 3-1 victory in Bilbao in 1982.
Thomas Tuchel was honest about the mood, accepting that neither set of players wanted this fixture rather than the final.
Didier Deschamps struck a more determined note, insisting there was a third place to play for and that France would do everything to claim it.
England’s semi-final exit is covered in full on our England v Argentina head-to-head page, and you can find every all-time record on the England National Team hub.
England International Record against France 1923 – 2026
P33 W18-D5-L10 F78-A45 Record: 62.12%
England v France Football Matches All-time Record 1923-2026. England v France history of every football game, result, goals, scorers, players, managers, fixtures, venue and competition type.
| 10-May-1923 | Stade Pershing, Paris | F | 4 | 1 | AW | Football Association | Alderson | Cresswell | Jones H | Plum | Seddon | Barton | Osborne | Buchan | Creek | Hartley | Hegan |
|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 17-May-1924 | Stade Pershing, Paris | F | 3 | 1 | AW | Football Association | Taylor | Lucas | Mort | Ewer | Wilson | Blackburn | Thornewell | Earle | Gibbins | Storer | Tunstall |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 21-May-1925 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 3* | 2 | AW | Football Association | Fox | Parker | Felton | Magee | Bryant | Green | Thornewell | Roberts F | Gibbins | Walker | Dorrell |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 26-May-1927 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 6* | 0 | AW | Football Association | Brown J | Goodall | Jones H | Edwards | Hill J H | Bishop | Hulme | Brown G | Dean | Rigby | Page |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 17-May-1928 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 5 | 1 | AW | Football Association | Olney | Goodall | Blenkinsop | Edwards | Matthews | Green | Bruton | Jack | Dean | Stephenson G | Barry |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9-May-1929 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 4 | 1 | AW | Football Association | Hufton | Blenkinsop | Cooper | Kean | Hill J H | Peacock | Adcock | Kail | Camsell | Bradford | Barry |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14-May-1931 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 2 | 5 | AL | Football Association | Turner | Cooper | Blenkinsop | Strange | Graham T | Tate | Crooks | Stephenson | Waring | Burgess | Houghton |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6-Dec-1933 | White Hart Lane, Tottenham, London | F | 4 | 1 | HW | Football Association | Hibbs | Goodall | Fairhurst | Strange | Rowe A | Copping W | Crooks | Grosvenor | Camsell | Hall W | Brook E |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 26-May-1938 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 4 | 2 | AW | Football Association | Woodley V | Sprotson B | Hapgood E | Willingham C | Young A | Cullis | Broome F | Matthews S | Drake T | Goulden L | Bastin C |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3-May-1947 | Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London | F | 3 | 0 | HW | Walter Winterbottom | Swift F | Scott L | Hardwick G | Wright B | Franklin C | Lowe | Finney T | Carter R | Lawton T | Mannion W | Langton R |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 22-May-1949 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 3 | 1 | AW | Walter Winterbottom | Williams B | Ellerington | Aston J | Wright B | Franklin C | Dickinson J | Finney T | Morris J | Rowley | Mannion W | Mullen J |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3-Oct-1951 | Arsenal Stadium, Highbury, London | F | 2* | 2 | HD | Walter Winterbottom | Williams B | Ramsey A | Willis | Wright B | Chilton | Cockburn H | Finney T | Manninon W | Milburn J | Hassall | Medley L |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15-May-1955 | Stade Olympique, Colombes, Paris | F | 0 | 1 | AL | Walter Winterbottom | Williams B | Sillett | Byrne R | Flowers R | Wright B | Edwards D | Matthews S | Revie D | Lofthouse N | Wilshaw | Blunstone |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 27-Nov-1957 | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London | F | 4 | 0 | HW | Walter Winterbottom | Hopkinson | Howe D | Byrne R | Clayton R | Wright B | Edwards D | Douglas B | Robson B | Taylor T | Haynes J | Finney T |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 3-Oct-1962 | Hillsborough, Sheffield | ECP | 1 | 1 | HD | Walter Winterbottom | Springett R | Armfield J | Wilson R | Moore B | Norman M | Flowers R | Hellawell M | Crowe C | Charnley R | Greaves J | Hilton A |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 27-Feb-1963 | Parc des Princes, Paris | ECP | 2 | 5 | AL | Alf Ramsey | Springett R | Armfield J | Henry R | Moore B | Labone B | Flowers R | Connelly J | Tambling B | Smith B | Greaves J | Charlton B |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 20-Jul-1966 | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London | WCF | 2 | 0 | HW | Alf Ramsey | Banks G | Cohen G | Wilson R | Stiles N | Charlton J | Moore B | Callaghan I | Greaves J | Charlton B | Hunt R | Peters M |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12-Mar-1969 | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London | F | 5 | 0 | HW | Alf Ramsey | Banks G | Newton K | Cooper T | Mullery A | Charlton J | Moore B | Lee F | Bell C | Hurst G | Peters M | O'Grady M |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16-Jun-1982 | Estadio San Mamיs, Bilbao, Spain | WCF | 3 | 1 | NW | Ron Greenwood | Shilton P | Mills M | Thompson P | Butcher T | Sansom K | Robson B | Wilkins R | Coppell S | Rix G | Mariner P | Francis T |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sub: | Neal P |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 29-Feb-1984 | Parc des Princes, Paris | F | 0 | 2 | AL | Bobby Robson | Shilton P | Duxbury M | Roberts G | Butcher T | Sansom K | Robson B | Hoddle G | Lee S | Williams S | Walsh P | Stein |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Barnes J | Woodcock T |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 19-Feb-1992 | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London | F | 2 | 0 | HW | Graham Taylor | Woods C | Jones R | Walker D | Wright M | Keown M | Pearce S | Webb N | Thomas G | Hirst D | Shearer A | Clough N |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sub: | Lineker G |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14-Jun-1992 | Malmo Stadion, Malmo, Sweden | ECF | 0 | 0 | ND | Graham Taylor | Woods C | Sinton A | Keown M | Walker D | Pearce S | Platt D | Steven T | Palmer C | Batty D | Lineker G | Shearer A |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7-Jun-1997 | Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France | T/C | 1 | 0 | AW | Glenn Hoddle | Seaman D | Neville P | Southgate G | Campbell S | Neville G | Beckham D | Batty D | Gascoigne P | Le Saux G | Shearer A | Wright I |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Ince P | Lee R | Sheringham T |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10-Feb-1999 | Empire Stadium, Wembley, London | F | 0 | 2 | HL | Howard Wilkinson | Seaman D | Dixon L | Adams T | Keown M | Le Saux G | Beckham D | Ince P | Redknapp J | Anderton D | Shearer A | Owen M |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Martyn N | Cole Andy | Ferdinand R | Wilcox J |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2-Sep-2000 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | F | 1 | 1 | AD | Kevin Keegan | Seaman D | Campbell S | Adams T | Keown M | Barry G | Beckham D | Wise D | Scholes P | Anderton D | Cole Andy | Barmby N |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Southgate G | Owen M | McManaman S | Dyer K |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13-Jun-2004 | Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal | ECF | 1 | 2 | NL | Sven Goran-Eriksson | James D | Neville G | King L | Campbell S | Cole A | Beckham D | Lampard F | Gerrard S | Scholes P | Rooney W | Owen M |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Vassell D | Hargreaves O | Heskey E |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 26-Mar-2008 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | F | 0 | 1 | AL | Fabio Capello | James D | Brown W | Ferdinand R | Terry J | Cole A | Beckham D | Hargreaves O | Gerrard S | Barry G | Cole J | Rooney W |
| | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Lescott J | Downing S | Owen M | Crouch P | Bentley D | Johnson G |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 17-Nov-2010 | Wembley Stadium, London | F | 1 | 2 | HD | Fabio Capello | Foster B | Jagielka P | Ferdinand R | Lescott J | Gibbs K | Walcott T | Barry G | Gerrard S | Henderson J | Milner J | Carroll A |
| | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Richards M | Johnson A | Young A | Warnock S | Bothroyd J | Crouch P |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11-Jun-2012 | Donbass Arena, Donetsk, Ukraine | ECF | 1 | 1 | ND | Roy Hodgson | Hart J | Johnson G | Terry J | Lescott J | Cole A | Milner J | Gerrard S | Parker S | Oxlade-C | Young A | Welbeck D |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Defoe J | Henderson J | Walcott T |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 17-Nov-2015 | Wembley Stadium, London | F | 2 | 0 | HW | Roy Hodgson | Hart J | Clyne N | Cahill G | Stones J | Gibbs K | Dier E | Alli D | Barkley R | Rooney W | Sterling R | Kane H |
| | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Butland J | Lallana A | Shelvey J | Bertrand R | Jones P |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13-Jun-2017 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | F | 2 | 3 | AL | Gareth Southgate | Heaton T | Trippier K | Cahill G | Stones J | Jones P | Dier E | Bertrand R | Oxlade-C | Alli D | Sterling R | Kane H |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Butland J | Walker K | Lallana A | Cresswell |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10-Dec-2022 | Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar | WCF QF | 1 | 2 | NL | Gareth Southgate | Pickford J | Walker K | Stones J | Maguire H | Shaw L | Bellingham J | Rice D | Henderson J | Saka B | Kane H | Foden P |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Mount M | Sterling R | Rashford M | Grealish J |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 18-July-2026 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, USA | WCF PO | 6 | 4 | NW | Thomas Tuchel | Henderson D | Quansah J | Konsa E | Guéhi M | Spence D | Eze E | Rice D | Rogers M | Saka B | Toney I | Rashford M |
| | | | | | | | | | | | Subs: | Watkins O | Bellingham J | Anderson E | James R | Chalobah T |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
England v France: Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about England v France in the 2026 World Cup third-place play-off, from kick-off time and venue to the all-time head-to-head record.
What is England v France in the 2026 World Cup?
It is the third-place play-off, the game FIFA calls the bronze final. It takes place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday 18 July 2026, with kick-off at 10pm BST (5pm ET).
Why are England and France playing for third place?
Both sides lost in the semi-finals. England were beaten 2-1 by defending champions Argentina, while France lost 2-0 to Spain. The two losing semi-finalists contest the third-place play-off, with the winners taking home the bronze medals and an extra slice of prize money.
What is England’s head-to-head record against France?
England have played France 32 times since 1923, winning 17, drawing 5 and losing 10. England have scored 72 goals and conceded 41, a win record of just under 61 per cent. Saturday’s match in Miami will be the 33rd meeting.
When did England last play France?
France won 2-1 in the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a match remembered for Harry Kane’s late penalty miss. It was the most recent of the countries’ three World Cup meetings.
Have England and France met at a World Cup before?
Yes, three times. England won 2-0 in the 1966 group stage on their way to lifting the trophy, won 3-1 in Bilbao at the 1982 finals, and lost 2-1 in the 2022 quarter-final. Saturday’s play-off will be their fourth World Cup meeting.
Have England ever won a World Cup third-place play-off?
No. England have lost both of their previous third-place play-offs, 2-1 to hosts Italy in 1990 and 2-0 to Belgium in 2018. Victory over France would be their first win in the fixture and their best World Cup finish since 1966.
What does the match mean for the Golden Boot?
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham both have six goals, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina’s Lionel Messi on eight. Because goals in the third-place play-off count towards the Golden Boot, a strong display in Miami could still influence the race.
