Football

France vs England Preview & Tips - France to secure bronze at 2026 World Cup with victory over England

By Ben Darvill

3 hours ago

Ben Darvill 3 hours ago

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France have won their last two matches against England
Kylian Mbappe has scored eight goals at the World Cup this year
Preview, stats & head to head

Kylian Mbappe of France (Getty Images)

France vs England Preview & Tips
Head To Head
France Form
England Form

France vs England Preview & Tips

France were not themselves in their World Cup semi-final as they were completely outplayed by Spain in a stunning 2-0 loss.

England saw their 1-0 lead over Argentina crumble in their World Cup semi-final as their overly-defensive mindset after scoring the opener cost them.

France have won six of their seven at the World Cup in 2026 (L1)
Kylian Mbappe has scored in five of his seven World Cup matches

Head To Head

France have won six of their last 10 against England, with the latter winning twice and two games ending as draws.

France Form

France could not activate their usually so dangerous attack in their semi-final with Spain as Kylian Mbappe et al were left to try to play off scraps against a Spanish side on a mission.

The incredible pace of France's frontline and the creativity of their midfield was completely nullified in their last outing as France failed to have any real impact on the game. While France were poor on the day, Spain did not give them any help, and this saw the match fail to live up to what many had thought would be a contest in which both sides went toe-to-toe with one another.

Now, France turn their attention to the World Cup match that nobody wants to be part of. While the focus will be on missing out on the chance to battle in the showpiece event, teams also want to avoid the ignominy of a fourth-placed finish and consecutive defeats.

As disappointing as Mbappe and his team were in the semi-finals, I back a reaction in this one. Mbappe will likely get his chances against an English defence that has only kept two clean sheets in seven games, and I back him to lead France to bronze.

England Form

England will know that they threw away the chance to appear in a World Cup final with a stuttering performance after they went 1-0 up against Argentina.

Anthony Gordon's close-range finish seemed to have England heading for the final, but a raft of defensive substitutions coupled with England sitting deeper and deeper saw Argentina given a huge amount of the ball. Eventually their pressure told, with England cracking and conceding twice in the space of seven minutes.

Argentina constituted the most beatable side left in the competition, with both France and Spain a level above England. With third-place on the line, England will go all-out to end on a win, but I do not back them to beat a French side that will feel they have a lot to prove in this one.

Verdict

France v England

I am backing Kylian Mbappe to sign off from the tournament with a goal as France hand England successive defeats.

Kylian Mbappe

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France

Match Winner

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