Mbappé chases Golden Boot vs Messi in France vs England third-place game

For Americans, the World Cup has a lot of weird stuff. We aren’t used to games ending in ties. We don’t really recognize the beauty of teams passing the ball back and forth, trying to see where it makes sense to attack the defense. Most of all, though, we are not used to major tournaments having a third-place game, but we get that here as France takes on England.

France disappointed me for a variety of reasons. Even if I didn’t have a ticket on them to win the World Cup, I would’ve probably been disappointed as they played Spain. They looked like they were little kids playing against adults out there. The lack of urgency, the skill disparity, and the overall performance looked brutal in comparison to what we’ve seen from France in all of the other games of the World Cup.

France’s Kylian Mbappe scored the go-ahead and ultimately game-winning goal against Paraguay on a penalty kick. (James Lang-Imagn Images)

The only thing that France really has to play for now is pride. It was disappointing to see them not bother against Spain, but they have still been very strong against almost every other team in the league. Now, the other thing that they can take a shot at is getting Kylian Mbappe another goal. He has eight, which is tied with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot, but he has fewer assists, so if he doesn’t score, he will lose.

HOW TO WATCH ENGLAND VS FRANCE: LIVE STREAM THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP THIRD-PLACE MATCH

England blew it. That’s really the overwhelming thought from almost every analyst and everyone else. England fans are furious at their coach for “parking the bus” in the second half of the game. I can’t say I blame them. England looked like they were just trying to run out the clock instead of being aggressive. We know Argentina is a good team, but England wasn’t really playing keep away; they seemed to just be loading the box and hoping that their opponent wouldn’t score.

England’s Harry Kane celebrates after scoring on a penalty kick during a World Cup round of 16 soccer match against Mexico in Mexico City on Sunday, July 5, 2026. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)

England can still make this a successful World Cup with a win. Sure, it isn’t the same as winning the tournament, but coming in third does seem like it would be a surprisingly successful run for them. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have proved to be one of the best duos in the entire tournament. The problem remains that it just hasn’t been enough. I do expect them to be more aggressive after the disaster of the last game.

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Does that mean they will find the back of the net multiple times? I kind of doubt it, but I do expect both teams to attack regularly. The opening line of this game was at 2.5 with juice on the over; it has now moved to 3.5, which gives a good middling opportunity if you bet the over originally.

(Left) England’s Harry Kane leaves the pitch at the end of the first half during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (Right) France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates scoring the opening goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Massachusetts, near Boston, on Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP Newsroom; Steven Senne/AP Newsroom)

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France still, in my eyes, remains the best team in the tournament – aside from Spain, I guess. I think they probably win this game in 90 minutes at -110, but I really don’t know how motivated either team will be in a third-place game. I think Mbappe is going to try to score as many goals as possible for the Golden Boot. Him at +300 is worth a flyer for two goals. I will also take under 3.5 as I just don’t see this game getting four goals.

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