Hello and welcome to day 38 of this sprawling world cup.There is a funny scene Yes, minister when the Right Hoodwinked, sorry, Right Honorable Jim Hacker asks if nuclear weapons are absolutely necessary. Surely, if push came to shove, the United States would protect Britain from Russia?A stunned Sir Humphrey Appleby claims Hacker should resign if he holds such unilateralist views, before pointing out that Britain’s nuclear weapons are not meant to protect him from Russia.They are meant to protect from France.When the LSE-educated Hacker points out that the French are their allies, a beleaguered Sir Humphrey explains: “I know now, but they’ve been our enemies for most of the last 900 years. If they’ve got the bomb, we must have the bomb!”Whatever Sir Humphrey’s faults, the educated Oxford man certainly knows his history. The modern Anglo-French feud began when William the Conqueror crossed the Channel in 1066, defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings and installed a French-speaking Norman ruling class.A great deal of water has gone under the proverbial bridge, or across the Channel, since then. England and France now face each other in the last place both wanted to be: the Game for the third place of the World Cup.
France vs England | Sunday, July 19, 2.30 am IST | Miami Stadium
The third place match is the football equivalent of being asked to pose for photographs after being left at the altar. England thought she was coming home. France thought the Dictator was untouchable and beyond reproach. Both were taught hard football lessons by the two main heirs to Cruyff’s legacy.Now, as the world goes “aww” over a 19-year-old photo of Messi and YamalFrance and England must play for a consolation prize that Ibrahima Konaté called a “chocolate medal”.
France’s Ibrahima Konate listens during a press conference before their World Cup third-place soccer match against England in Miami Gardens, Florida, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The world and his uncle, included Trump, the avuncular leader of the free world that no one asked forthey have already weighed in the substitutions and tactics of Tuchel. Yet this match contains more than a damaged ego. Tuchel will want to show that England can mix with the biggest teams. France would like to say Bye to Didier Deschamps after a Reign of 14 years which brought the 2018 World Cup, another World Cup final in 2022, the 2021 Nations League and a European Championship final in 2016.Then again, this is still a World Cup match. Messrs Mbappé, Kane and Bellingham can add to their totals and challenge for the Golden Boot. Mbappé can also become the first scorer in the history of the World Cup. Two goals would take him past Messi’s current record of 21, at least until the final. No one wanted to come to the afterparty. Now that I’m here, anyone might as well dance.Warrior watchKylian Mbappé: A last act for the DictatorThe Dictator enters the match level with Messi on eight goals. He also has 20 World Cup goals, one behind Messi’s record of 21.Whether Deschamps will start remains uncertain, although the France manager has confirmed that his captain is available. Mbappé has an incentive that no one else has: he can use the tournament’s least glamorous gear to claim one of his most prestigious individual awards.
Jude Bellingham: England’s emotional reset buttonBellingham was in the thick of things after the semifinal, who appeared to slap Argentine substitute Valentín Barco.He can use this workshop to make a more constructive point and maybe earn dressing room bragging rights over his Real Madrid teammate Mbappé. Bellingham and Kane have six goals apiece, meaning both remain within striking distance of the Golden Boot.Battle planSpain showed the world how to beat this French team by trapping their gifted attackers in an isolation Chakravyuh, cutting them off from the rest of the side. England should avoid sitting at the bottom because that would give Mbappé, Olise and Doué the license to thrill. The best plan would be to press the defense back in France, use Rogers between the lines and attack the space behind Theo Hernández. Saka can pin down the French defender, while Bellingham’s late runs can exploit the gaps created when France’s midfield moves towards the ball.England must also avoid turning the game into a pure sprinting contest. If possession changes hands repeatedly, France possess the fastest and deepest group of transition forwards.
President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino speak at a reception at Trump Tower in New York, Friday, July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
France will immediately target the unknown positions of England. If Quansah plays on the right and O’Reilly on the left, Mbappé and Doué will try to isolate and force England’s central midfielders to provide protection. That could leave Cherki or Olise with space between the lines. Deschamps can also free his attackers from some of the caution that defined the defeat by Spain. Bronze finals tend to be more open because the fear of elimination has disappeared. Which suits a French team built around one-on-one dominance.The decisive area: the right of England against the left of FranceSaka against Theo Hernández could shape the match. If Saka forces Hernández back, France will lose one of their most important attacking points. If Hernández can overlap and create two-on-one situations alongside Mbappé or Doué, England’s right side could spend the evening retreating towards their own goal.Watch ManagerThis will be Deschamps’ 187th and final match as France manager. He took charge in 2012 and led them to the Euro 2016 final, the 2018 World Cup title, the 2021 Nations League crown and another World Cup final in 2022.
France coach Didier Deschamps speaks during a news conference before their World Cup third-place soccer match against England, Friday, July 17, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Florida (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Their football has never been universally loved, but France have sashayed through most tournaments with an assurance that few international sides could match. At a later date, Deschamps may question whether he should have stuck to his conservative guns instead of seeking universal affection. Victory would give him his 122nd win as France manager.Tuchel argues that reaching the semi-finals represents progress, but the manner of England’s elimination resurrected an old accusation: England bottle it up when the going gets tough.He will want to show that this tournament marks the beginning of the Tuchel era rather than another famous English near miss. Victory would also give England their best World Cup final since 1966.Walk down memory laneFrance and England have met three times at the World Cup: :
- England won 2-0 in the group stage on their way to the title in 1966.
- England won 3-1 in the 1982 group stage, with Bryan Robson scoring after just 27 seconds.
- France won 2-1 in the 2022 quarter-finals after Kane converted a penalty but sent another over the bar.
Outside the campAs England and France prepare to meet in Miami, the oldest reported match in their rivalry has crossed the Channel. The Bayeux Tapestry, a 70 meter long account of William the Conqueror’s invasion, or what younger generations might call a very long scroll, has returned to England for the first time in nearly a thousand years.
FILE – This photo taken on September 18, 2019 shows the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England, in Bayeux, Normandy, France. (AP Photo/Kamil Zihnioglu, File)
England and France are brothers who have spent centuries fighting over inheritance while borrowing each other’s clothes. The Norman Conquest created a cross-Channel ruling class, with French becoming the language of the court of England and its supposedly civilized classes, if it ever existed. English has become intelligible by borrowing from French, including parliament, government, justice, authority and the army.Under Henry II, the English crown controlled more of France than the French king. The monarch was a sovereign in England and a feudal subordinate in France, an arrangement designed to turn family law into litigation by the sword. Edward III’s claim to the throne of France produced the Hundred Years’ War, while France’s Auld Alliance with Scotland ensured that England could be threatened from both directions, sometimes by someone that later generations would imagine as Mel Gibson.After 1707, the rivalry became Great Britain against France and traveled around the world. Their armies, navies and trading companies fought from Canada to the Caribbean and India. Britain emerged from the Seven Years’ War with an empire. France retaliated by helping Britain’s American colonies win independence, spending so much that their monarchy eventually lost its head.Revolutionary France then offered Great Britain a nightmare: regicide and political contagion. Napoleon provided the military version, marching across Europe while Britain relied on ships, money and allies. Nelson crushed French naval ambitions at the Nile and Trafalgar; Waterloo ended the Napoleonic adventure.The rise of Germany made old enemies allies. They fought through two world wars, though friendship never eliminated suspicion. Charles de Gaulle led the Free France from London, but Britain also attacked the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir to prevent it from falling into German hands.After 1945, Britain looked to Washington while France pursued freedom of speech not without asking America. De Gaulle twice blocked British entry into the European Economic Community. Britain joined in 1973 and left in 2020, reopening the old question of whether to belong to Europe or just live alongside it.Thirty-four kilometers of water separate them. The Channel was wide enough to thwart conquest, but never wide enough to allow escape.Conversation at the tableIs finishing third in the World Cup an achievement? More importantly, is it worth staying up for?