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Although England and France’s trips to the World Cup were cut short in the semi-finals, the two national teams will meet in one more match for third place. England lost to defending champion Argentina, 2-1, on Wednesday, and France lost, 2-0, to Spain on Tuesday.
France entered the World Cup as heavy favorites and looking for another shot at a title after losing to Argentina on penalties in 2022. England’s World Cup run inspired many as they reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2018, hoping to take home their first World Cup trophy since 1966.
France’s run to the semi-finals convinced many fans that they had a clear chance of reaching the World Cup final, especially with nine points in the group stage, 16 goals scored and only four conceded.
After a 3-0 victory over Sweden in the round of 32, 1-0 over Paraguay in the round of 16 and a convincing 2-0 victory over Morocco in the quarter-finals, France had to face Spain for a place in the final. While France was yet to trail in any match at the 2026 World Cup, Spain’s 22nd-minute penalty set the tone for their victory over Les Bleus.
England’s World Cup run began with a dominant 4-2 win over Croatia in the group stage, but a 1-1 draw with Ghana kept things interesting for the Three Lions. After a decisive victory over Panama, England advanced to the round of 32 over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite trailing 1-0 until the 75th minute, captain Harry Kane scored a late double to send England into the last 16.
Against Mexico, star Jude Bellingham also scored a brace, despite being one player down for 40 minutes, and advanced to the quarterfinals to face Norway. Facing star Erling Haaland, England found their rhythm as Bellingham scored another double to secure a place in the semi-finals against Argentina. However, Lionel and Messi ended England’s dreams of winning the World Cup with their 2-1 victory.
Who are the referees for England vs. France?
(Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
The main referee of the third place match will be Jesús Valenzuela, born in Venezuela. At 42 years old, Valenzuela has refereed various tournaments between World Cups and Copa América.
Valenzuela is refereeing his second World Cup, where he refereed two matches in Qatar and is preparing for his fourth at the 2026 World Cup. Valenzuela previously refereed Australia’s 2-0 win over Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 3-1 win over Qatar and Norway’s 2-1 comeback victory over Ivory Coast in the round of 32. While he has shown four yellow cards in the previous three matches, he has yet to show a red card in any World Cup match.
Both Kane and French star Kylian Mbappé have had previous encounters with Valenzuela. In 2022, Valenzuela was the central referee for England’s 0-0 draw with the United States in the group stage, as well as the main referee for France’s 3-1 round of 16 victory over Poland.
Joining Valenzuela will be assistant referees Jorge Urrego and Tulio Moreno, who were also born in Venezuela.
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela
Assistant referee 1: Jorge Urrego
Assistant referee 2: Tulio Moreno
4th Officer: Jalal Jayed
Reserve assistant referee: Zakaria Brinsi
