Published Jul 18, 2026, 7:46 AM ET · Updated 4 months ago · 1 source
France v England in the third-place playoff: the game nobody wants to play
guardian
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Original Report
INFERY
Saturday’s rebranded “bronze final” between France and England in Miami might feel like a modern, Gianni-coded exercise in squeezing the product dry, but the third-place playoff is a staple of World Cup history, even if it remains the game nobody wants to play in. The very first TPPO came in 1934, Germany defeating Austria 3-2 in a match engulfed in murky, menacing geopolitics. Thankfully, the fixture quickly became a more knockabout affair – Brazil swaggered on to the world stage by beating Swe