Why you should care about the third-place play-off between England and France

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Why you should care about World Cup third-place play-offImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England take on France in Saturday's third-place play-off live on TVBySam DruryBBC Sport journalistPublished2 hours agoSo there you have it. England's World Cup dreams are dashed once more, the wait for a first men's major trophy since 1966 goes on - and to make matters worse, they can't even get on a plane and fly home just yet. That's right, the tournament is not quite over for Thomas Tuchel's side with a third-place play-off against France to come on Saturday (22:00 BST).

It probably seems like the last thing anyone wants after Wednesday's heart-breaking loss to Argentina, but maybe it won't be so bad? In fact, when you think about it, there are at least four reasons why you do, actually, want to watch it... England suffer World Cup semi-final heartbreak with loss to Argentina 'The change didn't work' - England player ratings Published16 hours agoFinal two World Cup matches to be shown live on Published15 hours ago1.

The Details

Race for the Golden Boot Figure caption, All the goals that fired France to semi-finalsFirst and foremost, there is still a trophy that players on both sides will be focused on: the Golden Boot. France captain Kylian Mbappe has enjoyed a superb tournament and is currently level with Lionel Messi as this World Cup's joint top scorer on eight goals so far. However, the Argentina great currently has the edge thanks to his four assists to Mbappe's three.

Goals in third-place play-offs do count towards the Golden Boot award, though, so Mbappe can still overtake the former Barcelona forward - albeit Messi will have the opportunity to respond in the final itself. Should Mbappe score, or provide two assists, he would follow in the footsteps of Italy's Salvatore Schillaci, who clinched the Golden Boot in 1990 by scoring in the third-place contest against... Of course, there is still a chance an England player might take the prize for the tournament's top scorer given both Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are just two goals behind Messi and Mbappe.

Given the Three Lions pair also have fewer assists, it would likely require a hat-trick to top the charts but you never know - and seeing top attacking talents go in search of goals is always fun to watch. Does third place play-off count towards World Cup golden boot? Published4 hours ago2.

What Experts Say

Chance of England's best World Cup finish since 1966 Figure caption, All the goals from England's 2026 World Cup campaignThe ultimate prize might now be out of reach but there is still a chance for this to end as a historic tournament for England. OK, winning a third-place play-off for the first time might not be what fans were dreaming of when the World Cup began - but it would ensure this was England's best finish at the tournament for 60 years. Victory over France would mean only their 1966 triumph would rank above this year's efforts.

Two previous third-place play-offs at the World Cup have ended in defeat.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.