Forget The Final — This Weekend’s Other World Cup Match Could Decide The Top Scorer Award

France and England’s third-place playoff on Saturday may lack a trophy, but with France’s Kylian Mbappé, England’s Harry Kane, and Jude Bellingham all in the Golden Boot race, the match still carries real stakes.

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In Brief

France face England in the 2026 World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday, 18 July, with kick-off at 10 pm BST.
The Golden Boot race is still very much alive, with Mbappé on eight goals and Kane and Bellingham just two behind.
The winner of the third-place playoff takes home USD 29 million, making this far from a meaningless dead rubber.

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France will take on England in the 2026 FIFA World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday (18 July), with kick-off set for 10 pm BST (5 pm ET) — that’s 5 am Sunday, 19 July, Malaysian time.

This match is separate from the final — both France and England have already lost their semifinals and are out of contention for the title.

The match, officially known as the “Match for Third Place,” decides which team finishes third and which finishes fourth at this year’s tournament.

The third-place playoff has long struggled for relevance in football culture.

A few reasons explain why:

Both teams are playing just days after losing painful semifinal matches, often leaving squads mentally and physically drained.
Unlike the final, there’s no trophy on the line — only a medal placing.
Other major tournaments, including the UEFA European Championship, have already scrapped their own third-place matches.

@fitzy__football The most depressing match.. #worldcup #worldcup2026 #football #wc2026 #soccer ♬ Originalton – 🎧☆

Little-Known Facts About This Fixture

Despite its reputation as a “dead rubber”, there’s more going on beneath the surface than most fans realise.

Goals still count for the Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé currently leads the tournament scoring charts with eight goals, level with Lionel Messi, who is instead playing in Sunday’s final.

England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are both close behind on 6 goals each, giving them a chance to close the gap in Saturday’s match.

Bookmakers still see this as a real race: Betting sites currently favour Mbappé to win the Golden Boot, meaning a USD 100 bet on him could return around USD 200 in profit if he wins. Kane, on the other hand, is seen as a long shot — a USD 100 bet on him could pay out as much as USD 2,200 if he somehow overtakes Mbappé.

These games tend to be goal-fests: Because squads in this fixture often play more attacking, lower-pressure football, the third-place match has historically produced higher-scoring, more open games than tighter knockout fixtures.

According to official FIFA prize money distributions, the winner of the third-place playoff takes home USD 29 million (approximately RM 128 million).

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