"None of these players, none of the French players want to play this match. They want to play in the final. We gave everything to be in the final," Thomas Tuchel admitted, and the England manager's words capture the mood in which France and England step out in Miami. Both arrive bruised. France were beaten 2-0 by Spain in the semi-finals, England went out 2-1 to Argentina after a night that swung until the last minute, and for a lot of the players involved, the bronze final is an obligation rather than an occasion. Yet there is real money on the table. The winners collect 29 million dollars, two million more than the one that finishes fourth.
The sharper contest is for the Golden Boot, and Kylian Mbappé is one strike away from history. He has eight goals, level with Lionel Messi, though Argentina is ahead on assists. The 27-year-old has now scored 20 goals across World Cups, one short of Messi's all-time record. England still has runners in the race too: Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham sit on six apiece. And the fixture has form here. It was in a third-place play-off that Just Fontaine set the mark nobody has touched since, putting four past Germany in 1958. History is waiting.
The two camps see the night differently. Tuchel treats it as a chore. Didier Deschamps does not. "There's a third-place finish to play for, so we'll do everything we can to get it," the 57-year-old insisted. For him this is the end of an era: he leaves the France job after 14 years. Both managers will rotate and hand minutes to squad players, but for the men who cross the white line it is a last chance to play for their country's standing and for themselves. This is more than a fixture bolted on before the final.
