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# World Cup Daily: July 18, the third-place match
- URL: https://verdeallday.com/world-cup-daily-july-18-france-england-third-place-match/
- Published: 2026-07-18T13:30:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-18T13:30:39.000Z
- Description: Saturday brings one last chance to watch Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé represent their countries. Also, we point to some ideas to improve the World Cup next time around.
- Author: Phil West
- Tags: world cup

Saturday's match is unique among all 104 matches in the 2026 World Cup. The teams involved have been eliminated and can't advance, but they're playing all the same. 

But, unlike other third-place matches in the past, this is the first to feature two top-five teams, and in an alternate universe, France-England might have been an engaging final. There *is* still a Golden Boot race on the line, with Kylian Mbappé definitely in contention, and Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Ousmane Dembélé all just a hat trick away from making things interesting. 

4 pm CT. Soccer's better than no soccer. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/07/WC-2026-13--1.png)

## Round of 32

### Sunday, June 28

- **Canada 1, South Africa 0**

### Monday, June 29

- **Brazil 2, Japan 1**
- **Paraguay 1(4), Germany 1(3)**
- **Morocco 1(3), Netherlands 1(2)**

### Tuesday, June 30

- **Norway 2, Côte d'Ivoire** **1**
- **France 3, Sweden 0**
- **Mexico 2, Ecuador 0**

### Wednesday, July 1

- **England 2, DR Congo 1**
- **Belgium 3, Senegal 2**
- **United States** **2, Bosnia and Herzegovina 0**

### Thursday, July 2

- **Spain 3, Austria 0**
- **Portugal 2, Croatia 1**
- **Switzerland 2, Algeria 0**

### Friday, July 3

- **Argentina 3, Cabo Verde 2**
- **Colombia 1, Ghana 0**
- **Egypt 1(4), Australia 1(2)**

## Round of 16

### Saturday, July 4

- **Morocco 3, Canada 0**
- **France 1, Paraguay 0**

### Sunday, July 5

- **Norway 2, Brazil 1**
- **England 3, Mexico 2**

### Monday, July 6

- **Spain 1, Portugal 0**
- **Belgium 4, United States 1**

### Tuesday, July 7

- **Argentina 3, Egypt 2**
- **Switzerland 0(4), Colombia 0(3)**

## Quarterfinals

### Thursday, July 9

- **France 2, Morocco 0**

### Friday, July 10

- **Spain 2, Belgium 1**

### Saturday, July 11

- **England 2, Norway 1**
- **Argentina 3, Switzerland 1**

## Semifinals

### Tuesday, July 14

- **Spain 2, France** **0**

### Wednesday, July 15

- **Argentina 2, England 1**

## Third-place match

### Saturday, July 18

- **France vs. England**, 4 pm, Miami Gardens, Fla.

## Final

### Sunday, July 19

- **Spain vs. Argentina**, 2 pm, East Rutherford, N.J.

## Where to watch 

Since you might be making it a day with Austin FC via the open practice, you may want to take in [Inn Cahoots](https://www.austinfc.com/soccercelebration?ref=verdeallday.com) as it winds down. 

## What to read

Ryan Rosenblatt has some [really interesting ideas](https://thinkoutsidetheball.substack.com/p/world-cup-day-37-ideas-for-format) for improving the World Cup. 

*Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out* Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) *wherever you get your podcasts.*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/d1/1ed16f3e-4f96-4b65-9a04-4b0634738b99/content/images/2026/02/TrueEarnings2.png)