There are only two games left in the FIFA World Cup, with France and England battling for third place until Sunday’s final.
While France and England will face off in the match for third place, all eyes are also on Argentina vs. Spain, where a generational showdown between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal is scheduled.
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Here’s what you need to know:
What is the schedule for the third place match?
What are the predictions?
France and England have met three times in the FIFA World Cup. England won their first two matches, defeating France 2-0 in the 1966 group stage and 3-1 in the first leg of the 1982 group stage. In their most recent encounter, France defeated England 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
According to the supercomputer Opta, France is the favorite to win the third-place match. After running 25,000 simulations before the match, the model found that Les Bleus had a 50.7% chance of winning within 90 minutes. England were assigned a 25.6 per cent chance of winning, but post-regulation simulations gave them a 23.7 per cent chance of a draw.
What do we know about the finals?
Spain and Argentina will meet in the final on Sunday, July 19th at New York-New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, with kickoff scheduled for 7pm GMT.
Spain are chasing their second World Cup crown, while defending champions Argentina are aiming for their fourth title. The last meeting between the two sides was in an international friendly in Madrid in 2018, with Spain recording a 6-1 victory.
US President Donald Trump is also expected to attend the final and award the World Cup trophy to the winner.
In addition to trophies and gold medals, the winners will also receive new prizes. For the first time, FIFA will award championship rings, a tradition in North American sports. Thirty rings will be produced for the winning team, and an additional 1,996 collector’s editions will be sold to fans.
The rings will then be customized to reflect the winning team’s identity and individually tailored before being unveiled at a later date. One side features the World Cup trophy and the other side features details specific to the champion.
Organizers are also monitoring air quality after smoke from the Canadian wildfires prompted health advisories in parts of the New York metropolitan area. There is currently no sign that Sunday’s final will be affected.
What else is going on?
Tuchel’s tactics spark backlash
England’s loss to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals sparked intense criticism of manager Thomas Tuchel, with many accusing the German manager of repeating the mistakes that have plagued England for decades.
After England squandered a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1, British media questioned Tuchel’s tactical decisions, particularly his defensive substitutions. Headlines described it as “the same old story”, while critics claimed the coach “just cowered” in the biggest moments.
Former England captain Gary Lineker also questioned Tuchel’s suitability to lead the team, saying he was specifically brought in to bring them a big trophy after years of near-misses under Gareth Southgate. Like his predecessor, Tuchel was widely criticized for being too cautious after taking the lead, with many claiming his changes led to pressure and ultimately cost England a place in the World Cup final.
From the bathtub to the World Cup final
Nearly 20 years ago, photographer Joan Monfort gave little thought to a charity photoshoot in which 20-year-old Lionel Messi bathed a baby in a plastic bathtub. Years later, the baby turned out to be Ramin Yamal, and one of the most remarkable coincidences in football was born.
The image was taken in 2007 for a charity calendar produced by Sport and UNICEF and has resurfaced ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final, which will pit Messi’s Argentina against Yamal’s Spain. In the photo, Messi is gently washing the baby. The families were randomly selected in a lottery in the Catalan city of Mataro.
Monfort, who took the photo while working on the task, said he is still surprised by the coincidence. “I didn’t believe things were destined to happen, but I’m starting to have doubts,” he told The Associated Press.
The story became even more amazing when you consider what happened next. Messi left Barcelona in 2021 having established himself as one of the greatest players in the history of football, while Yamal emerged as the club’s next superstar just two years later. Now, the two will play on opposite sides in the World Cup final, completing a journey that began with a chance photo shoot nearly 20 years ago.
Final World Cup preparations halted due to wildfire smoke
Spain’s preparations for the World Cup final have been affected by hazardous air quality from smoke from Canadian wildfires, with players practicing outdoors in northern New Jersey under hazy skies on Thursday.
Only the first 15 minutes of the hour-long session were available to the media, so it was unclear how intense the training was. Meanwhile, Argentina remained at their training base near Atlanta after Wednesday’s semi-final win over England, avoiding the worst of the smoke due to their further south location.
Smoke traveling south from wildfires in northern Ontario has triggered air pollution warnings for parts of the Midwest and Northeast. Health officials urged people to stay indoors or wear masks outdoors as pollution levels reached unhealthy to dangerous levels.
Medical experts questioned the decision to hold an outdoor training exercise under these circumstances. Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency physician and member of the Global Climate Health Alliance, said elite athletes should avoid exercising outdoors when wildfire smoke reaches dangerous levels, recommending air-conditioned indoor facilities instead.
