France will face England in bronze final at Miami Stadium on Saturday 18 July
After falling short in last-four clash with Spain, Les Bleus are determined to finish their campaign on a high
Didier Deschamps' final match in charge of France offers the chance to secure a seventh World Cup medal
At the very top stands a giant. No nation can match Germany's FIFA World Cup™ record of 12 podium finishes from 21 appearances – a perfectly balanced collection comprising four world titles, four runners-up finishes and four third-place finishes. Just behind come Brazil, with nine podium finishes and a record five world titles, alongside two silver medals and two bronze medals.
That is why Saturday's FIFA World Cup 2026™ bronze final against England carries genuine historical significance for France. Victory would take Les Bleus to seven World Cup podium finishes, drawing them level with Italy (four titles, two runners-up finishes and one bronze medal) and Argentina, who will also be guaranteed a seventh World Cup medal regardless of the outcome of Sunday's final against Spain. It would also further cement France's place among the giants of World Cup history.
First, however, they must find the mental strength to recover from the disappointment of their 2-0 semi-final defeat to Spain. Although still hurting from that setback, Didier Deschamps' players immediately made clear their determination to end their North American campaign on a high.
"Of course we want to finish on a positive note," defender Maxence Lacroix told FIFA. "It's not in our DNA to give up on this final match. So many supporters have travelled thousands of kilometres to back us, and we owe it to them as well. We don't want to go out through the back door."
Deschamps echoed those sentiments, despite struggling to hide his disappointment.
"We still have one match to play," he said. "I'm immensely proud of what we've achieved in difficult circumstances. If anything, it has given us even more desire, hope and ambition."
The key question now is whether Les Bleus can put their frustration behind them and rediscover the form that made them one of the tournament's outstanding teams for more than a month in North America.
"We'll see what happens when kick-off comes around at 5 pm. on Saturday," Rayan Cherki said after the semi-final. "For now, all we want to do is forget."
France have responded before. Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa and Co bounced back to defeat West Germany 6-3 in the 1958 third-place play-off, earning the first World Cup medal in French football history. Michel Platini's generation could not do the same in 1982, losing 3-2 to Poland, but made amends four years later by beating Belgium 4-2 after extra time to claim bronze.
After lifting the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and 2018 and finishing runners-up in 2006 and 2022, Les Bleus now set their sights on another bronze medal – even if it is not the colour they had hoped to be fighting for when they arrived in North America.
It would nevertheless carry special significance, as it would bring Deschamps' 26-match World Cup tenure as France coach to a fitting conclusion.
"Even though it's difficult because our objective was to reach the World Cup final, this match is important, especially because it will also be our coach's last," Lacroix said.
Sources: FIFA Official
