Both England and France have declared the third-place match at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, United States.
However, France's level of seriousness in this match is slightly greater than England's, considering that Les Bleus is trying to make their striker and captain, Kylian Mbappe, the top scorer in the 2026 World Cup.
Given Spain's difficult goal to break down, even against Argentina, and the prospect of Thomas Tuchel fielding a more second-string squad than Didier Deschamps, Mbappe's chances of ending the tournament with the individual Golden Shoe trophy are greater than Lionel Messi's.
Both Mbappe and Messi have scored eight goals in the FIFA tournament, which is the first time a 48-team tournament has been held.
Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham, who have each scored six goals, still have a chance to surpass Messi and Mbappe's achievements if they score a hat trick in the third-place match, provided Mbappe and Messi do not score in their final matches at this World Cup.
Deschamps himself made a stronger statement than Tuchel that the battle for third place remains crucial, as finishing third is better than finishing fourth.
However, perhaps Deschamps, who is about to end his tenure as France coach, is motivated to present France with the World Cup's most important remaining award, the Golden Boot.
In a situation like this, the Golden Boot became very prestigious, because it was a form of French supremacy over Argentina and Spain, which still remained.
If Deschamps truly wants this, he likely won't make many changes to the front line. Mbappé and Michael Olise will still start.
In contrast, France's midfield and defense, especially after the injury to center-back William Saliba, will see significant changes from the squad that lost 2-0 to Spain in the semifinals.
Rayan Cherki, Marcus Thuram, Maghnes Akliouche, Jean-Philippe Mateta, N'Golo Kante, and Warren Zaire-Emery are among the second-string players who have had more playing time, whether as starters or substitutes.
