The World Cup’s third-place play-off has been part of nearly every tournament, and goals scored in it count toward players’ totals and the Golden Boot race.
First staged at the 1934 World Cup, the match was absent only three times: in 1942 and 1946 when the tournament was cancelled due to World War II, and in 1950 when the final phase used a round-robin format. It returned in 1954 and has featured ever since.
The game can be a mental challenge for players fresh from semi-final defeat—England manager Thomas Tuchel has said “no one wants to play” in it.
Because goals in this fixture still add to a player’s tally, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham all remain in contention for the 2026 Golden Boot despite France and England losing in the semi-finals. Heading into the final weekend, they are among seven players on five or more goals.
England face France in Saturday’s third-place match, with Spain meeting Argentina in Sunday’s final.
Mbappe and Lionel Messi are tied on eight goals, but Messi leads on assists. Erling Haaland has seven but cannot add to his total after Norway’s quarter-final exit. Bellingham and Kane sit on six, while Dembele and Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal have five each.
How strong England and France go in the third-place game could decide the Golden Boot. In 2018, Gareth Southgate made five changes for England’s play-off against Belgium; Golden Boot winner Kane started but didn’t score.
Seven past Golden Boot winners have scored in third-place matches. Four needed those goals to clinch the award: Thomas Muller (2010), Davor Suker (1998), Salvatore Schillaci (1990) and Leonidas (1938). Grzegorz Lato (1974), Eusebio (1966) and Just Fontaine (1958) also scored in the play-off during their winning years, though they would have topped the charts without those goals.