Mbappé chases Golden Boot vs Messi in France vs England third-place game
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
There are a lot of strange things about the World Cup for Americans. We are not used to matches ending in a draw. We don’t really understand the beauty of teams passing the ball back and forth trying to see where it makes sense to attack the defence. But most of all, we are not used to playing for third place in major tournaments, but we understand this when France meets England.
France disappointed me for several reasons. Even if I didn’t have the ticket to win them the World Cup, I’d probably be disappointed that they played Spain. They looked like little kids playing outside against adults. The lack of urgency, skill disparity and overall performance looked grim compared to what we saw from France in every other match of the World Cup.
France’s Kylian Mbappe scored the game-winning goal by scoring the first goal against Paraguay on the penalty kick. (James Lang-Imagn Images)
The only thing France has to play with for now is pride. It was disappointing to see they had no trouble against Spain, but they are still very strong against almost every team in the league. The other thing they can try now is to get Kylian Mbappe another goal. He has 8 assists, tied with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot, but he has fewer assists, so if he doesn’t score he will lose.
HOW TO WATCH THE ENGLAND-FRANCE MATCH: LIVE BROADCAST OF THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP THIRD PLACE MATCH
England ruined it. This is really the overwhelming opinion of almost every analyst and everyone else. England fans are furious with their coach for “parking the bus” in the second half of the match. I can’t say I blame them. Rather than being aggressive, England looked like they were just trying to run out the clock. We know Argentina are a good team but England weren’t really trying to stay away; It was as if they were just filling the box and hoping their opponents didn’t score.
England’s Harry Kane celebrates scoring a goal on the penalty kick during the World Cup Round of 16 match against Mexico on Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Mexico City. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)
England can still turn it into a successful World Cup with a win. Of course, this is not the same as winning the tournament, but placing third looks like it would be surprisingly successful for them. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have proven to be one of the best duos of the entire tournament. The problem is that this is not enough. I expect them to be more aggressive after the disaster of the last game.
SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWS
Does this mean they will find the back of the net multiple times? I doubt it, but I expect both teams to attack regularly. The opening line for this game was 2.5 and had juice on it; it has now risen to 3.5, which offers a good mid-range opportunity if you bet on it initially.
(Left) England’s Harry Kane leaves the field at the end of the first half during the World Cup semifinal football match between England and Argentina on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Right) Kylian Mbappe (10) of France celebrates scoring the opening goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco on Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, near Boston. (Rebecca Blackwell/AP Newsroom; Steven Senne/AP Newsroom)
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
France remain the best team in the tournament in my eyes; I think outside Spain. I think they will probably win this game at -110 after 90 minutes, but I really don’t know how motivated either team will be in the third place match. I think Mbappe will try to score as many goals as possible for the Golden Boot. Worth two goals at +300. I will also take under 3.5 because I do not think there will be four goals in this match.
CLICK TO GET MORE SPORTS NEWS FOXNEWS.COM
Follow David on X/Twitter for more sports betting information and games: @futureprez2024
