NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
For Americans, the World Cup has a lot of strange things. We are not used to games ending tied. We don’t really recognize the beauty of teams passing the ball back and forth, trying to see where it makes sense to attack the defense. But, above all, we are not used to big tournaments having a match for third place, but we understand that here when France faces England.
France disappointed me for several reasons. Even if I didn’t have a ticket to win the World Cup, I probably would have been disappointed when they played Spain. They looked like little children playing against adults. The lack of urgency, skill disparity and overall performance seemed brutal compared to what we’ve seen from France in every other World Cup match.
Frenchman Kylian Mbappé scored the winning goal from a penalty and, finally, the victory against Paraguay. (Images by James Lang-Imagn)
The only thing France really has to play for now is pride. It was disappointing to see that they didn’t bother against Spain, but they have still been very strong against almost every other team in the league. Now, the other thing they can try to do is get another goal for Kylian Mbappé. He has eight, which is tied with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot, but he has fewer assists, so if he doesn’t score, he will lose.
HOW TO WATCH ENGLAND VS FRANCE: LIVE STREAM THE MATCH FOR THIRD PLACE AT THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP
England blew it. That is really the overwhelming thought of almost all analysts and everyone else. England fans are furious with their manager for “parking the bus” in the second half of the match. I can’t say I blame them. It seemed like England were simply trying to run out of time rather than being aggressive. We know Argentina are a good team, but England weren’t really playing to stay away; They seemed to just be carrying the box and hoping their opponent didn’t score.
England’s Harry Kane celebrates after scoring a penalty kick during a World Cup round of 16 soccer match against Mexico in Mexico City on Sunday, July 5, 2026. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)
England can still make this a successful World Cup with a victory. Sure, it’s not the same as winning the tournament, but placing third seems to be a surprisingly successful run for them. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have proven to be one of the best duos of the entire tournament. The problem remains that it simply hasn’t been enough. I hope they are more aggressive after the disaster of the last game.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS
Does that mean they will find the back of the net multiple times? I doubt it a bit, but I hope that both teams attack regularly. The initial line of this game was 2.5 with juice in the over; It has now moved to 3.5, offering a good middle-of-the-road chance if you bet more originally.
(Left) England’s Harry Kane leaves the field at the end of the first half during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta, Georgia, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (Right) France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates scoring the opening goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Massachusetts, near Boston, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP Newsroom; Steven Senne/AP Newsroom)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
In my opinion, France is still the best team in the tournament, apart from Spain I guess. I think they’ll probably win this game in 90 minutes at -110, but I really don’t know how motivated either team will be in a third place game. I think Mbappé will try to score as many goals as possible for the Golden Boot. He at +300 is worth a midfielder for two goals. I’ll also take under 3.5, as I don’t see this game getting four goals.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
For more information on sports betting and gambling, follow David on X/Twitter: @futuroprez2024
