MIAMI GARDENS — Chances are, if England had originally been offered the chance to face France on the final weekend of World Cup 2026, the British would have taken it in a heartbeat. The same applies for the French and the opportunity to play the British.
This is where we are today.
Two teams where they want to be.
And yet in the position where nobody wants to be.
When England and France meet in the seventh and final World Cup match at Hard Rock Stadium (kickoff is 5 p.m. July 18), it will be in the consolation match.
The next day, Spain and Argentina will meet in the match everybody aims for, the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Never has the phrase what a difference a day makes been more appropriate.
“The English team doesn’t want to play,” French coach Didier Deschamps said. “We do not either.”
If they gave out a Ballon d’Or for brutally honest assessments, there’s your winner.
Not that anybody needed further proof, but think back to any awards ceremony following a tournament final. The team that finishes runner-up always gets its silver medals before the champions, and what typically happens? At least a few players on the losing team can’t wait to take the medal from around his neck. If they feel that way about finishing second, how do you think they feel about having to compete for the “honor” of finishing third?
Mere days after England couldn’t hold a lead in its semifinal against Argentina, those players had to hop on a plane from their base camp in Kansas City to come to Miami en route to England. The French, armed with all that attacking talent and favored to win it all, couldn’t penetrate Spain’s defense in its semi. So here they are.
Many have said there shouldn’t be a consolation match, although with money to be made for FIFA, good luck winning that argument. FIFA tries to dress up this match as the “Consolation Final,” a marketing gimmick nobody buys. In 2014, Louis van Gaal coached the Dutch to a 3-0 win over Brazil to place third, but even he argued that the match has no purpose. Van Gaal pointed out that one team always goes home having lost twice in a row despite having played better than nearly everybody else.
Subplots this time? They do exist, not the least of which is this will be au revoir for France coach Didier Deschamps, who has spent about half his life as the national team’s coach or standout player, winning the World Cup in both capacities.
“Let’s not complain,” Deschamps said. “How many teams did go back home? Forty-four before the semifinals. We didn’t play the match that we were hoping to play, but we do have a match for the third-place playoff. And there’s a duty. … We have a responsibility to wear this jersey for the French people who are cheering us.”
The same applies to the British, with the winning team likely to be the one that does the best job of ignoring whatever funk they’re in and convincing themselves of going out with collective honor.
There’s also individual honor to be had for both sides.
France’s Kylian Mbappe shares the tournament scoring lead with Argentina’s Lionel Messi at eight goals apiece. But England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham each have scored six times. And France’s Ousmane Dembele has five goals. So the Golden Boot race remains on, depending on how both teams care to attack it.
“He’s available,” Deschamps said of Mbappe. That doesn’t necessarily mean Mbappe will play. Coaches often use the consolation match to give playing time to other members of the 26-man squad who have seen little or no action to date.
“Yes, I will substitute some players,” Deschamps said. “Some players cannot play. Others due to personal reasons won’t play.”
Some will never wear the French shirt again, just as Deschamps, 57, will not coach the side again, stepping aside so Zinedine Zidane can take over.
“I don’t want anybody to cry and I don’t think anybody here will cry,” Deschamps said. “I know that the French national team will be missed but I had the privilege for over 15 years to be there, to wear this jersey and to go through amazing moments and to go also through some more difficult moments. So the end is coming near, but life goes on. I don’t know what it’ll be made of, but I’m usually a positive person and I know that it will be great, too.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Cup: England meets France in match neither team really wants
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
