Kylian Mbappe will start for France as they take on England in the third-place match at the World Cup in Miami on Saturday, with both coaches fielding heavily reshuffled lineups.
Mbappe is looking to claim the tournament Golden Boot and leapfrog Lionel Messi as the World Cup’s all-time leading goal scorer.
France coach Didier Deschamps at the helm for the last time as France field reserve defence.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane start on the bench for England.
Third place would be England’s best World Cup finish since 1966.
Teams:
France: Mike Maignan; Malo Gusto, Ibrahima Konate, Maxence Lacroix, Theo Hernandez; Warren Zaire-Emery, Rayan Cherki, Adrien Rabiot; Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappe (captain), Desire Doue
England: Dean Henderson; Jarell Quansah, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Djed Spence ; Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers, Declan Rice (captain); Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Marcus Rashford
Playing your final World Cup match one day prior to the championship game is not the assignment anybody desires.
But it’s the reality for France and England as the two countries will take the field in the third-place match on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
“None of our players, and none of the French players, wants to play the third-place match,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said. “They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve it.”
England missed out on the title match after allowing two late goals to Argentina to fall 2-1 on Wednesday in the semifinals. One day earlier, France came up short when largely outplayed in a 2-0 loss to Spain.
France coach Didier Deschamps isn’t the least bit thrilled about competing for the consolation prize.
“The best thing for France and England would be for this match not to exist,” Deschamps said.
The contest will be the final one as Les Bleus coach for the 57-year-old Deschamps, whose 14-year tenure includes guiding the nation to the 2018 World Cup crown.
