- Safiu Kehinde
France’s spectacular run at the 2026 FIFA World Cup where they scored 16 goals with three conceded in six games suffered a huge blow at the Semi-Final against Spain.
The Les Bleus attacking flair spearheaded by Real Madrid’s striker, Kylian Mbappe, and the 2025 Ballon D’Or winner, Ousmane Dembele, turned shadow of their old self as they suffered a humbling 2-0 defeated to the La Rojas on Tuesday.
Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro denied the 2018 World Cup winners another shot at the final which will now see them contest for the bronze medal in a third-place match against the loser of the second semi-final match between the defending champions, Argentina, and England.
Speaking of the second semi-final match, England were tipped to cause upset against Argentina who had poised to be a team to beat with their narrow 3-2 win against debutant, Cape Verde, in the Round of 32 and their tense contest against Egypt in the last 16.
However, the Lionel Messi-inspired Argentines had built a reputation of comeback wins as they put three goals past the Pharaohs within the last ten minutes to book a quarterfinals spot against Switzerland. While they eased past the Swiss with 3-1 win, the clash against England saw another replay of their match with Egypt.
England, hoping for their first World Cup final since 1966, proved a hard nut to crack for the La Albicelestes, holding them to a goalless first half draw. The Three Lions eventually put themselves upfront as Anthony Gordon’s 55th minute goal sparked hope among the English fans. Football, they thought, was coming home until Argentina ignited their comeback alter ego.
The Three Lions gifted away their lead in the 85th minute as Enzo Fernandez latched home an equaliser before Lautaro Martinez 92nd minute header crashed England out.
However, the Thomas Tuchel-led side recorded a safe landing in the spot for a third-place finish where they are billed to face France on Saturday night for the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, both European giants had shared same pitch in previous editions of the tournament. Their first encounter dated back to 1966 which was England’s only World Cup winning campaign. The Three Lions faced France in group stage opener. England emerged winner of the match as Roger Hunt’s double handed the Les Bleus a 2-0 defeat.
Both teams would again square off against each other at 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. The Three Lions recorded another win as Bryon Robson’s brace and Paul Mariner’s goal sank France to 3-1 defeat.
France finally got their revenge against England at the 2022 edition as they secured a 2-1 victory against the Three Lions. Goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud saw the Les Bleus advanced to the semi-finals of the tournament. They went as far as reaching the final but suffered defeat against Argentina.
Meanwhile, France and England have played against each other in nine competitive matches with equal share of three wins respectively and three draws.
The third-place showdown will mark their 10th outing against each other, but unlike their last three World Cup encounters, a bronze medal lies on the line.