Les Bleus had arrived in North America as almost unanimous tournament favourites, but were stunned by Spain in their semi-final, falling to a 2-0 defeat.
The match will mean something to Didier Deschamps, though, as he faces up to what will be his final match in charge of the national team.
“I have a duty for this game,” Deschamps told a press conference in Miami. “It is not a friendly. It is a third-place playoff. The players, staff, and I have the duty to reach this last objective.
‘Not a friendly’: Didier Deschamps is hoping to end his France tenure on a high
PA
“It is less important than the final. England does not want to play this game, and neither do we. But here we are. We have to set our eyes on that goal to be third and make this final goal a reality. We have this duty when wearing this jersey.
“In my head I know that it is my last match. I don’t want anybody to cry. The end is near but life goes on.”
Tuchel has sung a similar tune, though knows he has two years left to run on his England contract, but he too will hope to save face with a win here after coming under fire for his decisions against Argentina.
What can England win if they beat France in bronze final?
The third-place play-off is often described as a match nobody wants to play in, with the final obviously preferred, but the match is not a total dead rubber.
For one thing, the bronze final’s victor stands to benefit from FIFA’s expanded prize fund for this World Cup. The winner will net themselves £21.5million in prize money, while the loser will only take home £20m.
The third-place finisher will also take home a clutch of bronze medals. There is no trophy available for either side to take home.
England have never won the third-place play-off in two previous attempts, losing to Belgium in 2018 and Italy in 1990.
