World Cup
2026-07-18 - France vs England
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football : World: FIFA World Cup - Third Place Play-Off
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium
Saturday 18th July 2026, 1600hrs (local)
France
France had not only looked every bit World Cup finalists again in this current iteration of this tournament but also looked serious candidates to lift the Jules Rimet trophy as Les Bleus had swept aside all-comers on their way to the semi-finals.
Didier Deschamps’ charges had collected six wins on the trot en-route to the last four nations in the competition after recording a 100% winning record during the group stage courtesy of victories gained over the likes of Senegal, Iraq and Norway respectively.
France then cruised through the knockout rounds as Les Bleus accounted for Sweden 3-0, Paraguay 1-0 in a particularly physical war of attrition before seeing off Morocco for the second time on the trot in the World cup with a 2-0 victory.
However, the tables were turned on the French when they came up against Spain in the semi-finals as Didier Deschamps’ side were barely able to lay a glove on La Roja, culminating in a 2-0 loss to consign them to this upcoming Third Place play-off.
England
England will need to re-group and dust themselves off after suffering the same fate as their upcoming opponents, France, as the Three Lions went crashing out of the World Cup at the semi-final stage having slipped to a heart-breaking 2-1 defeat at the hands of the World Cup holders, Argentina.
Thomas Tuchel’s side had previously put together a three-game unbeaten run during the group stage by picking up wins against Croatia and Panama along with a point gained in a draw with a stubborn Ghana outfit, as well as progressing through the knockout rounds with relative ease.
Indeed, England successfully navigated their way through the rounds of 32 and 16 with victories recorded over DR Congo and Mexico respectively along with an extra-time win over an Erling Haaland-fuelled Norway outfit.
It looked like England might just reach their first World Cup final since 1966 when they went 1-0 ahead against Argentina in the semi-finals but questionable substitutions along with defending too deep contributed to an eventual 2-1 defeat.
The Betting Verdict
England have lost their last two meetings against the French but having managed to contain the holders Argentina for the majority of their semi-final at least proves Tuchel’s side are also capable of neutralizing Les Bleus in this Third Place play-off.
Back England with the handicap (Double Chance).
The Pick :
France 1-1 England
