France vs. England World Cup preview: Bayern stars set for third-place showdown | OneFootball

Bayern Munich duo Dayot Upamecano and Michael Olise saw their World Cup dreams shattered as France fell to a 0-2 defeat against a well-drilled Spain side in Tuesday's semi-final.

The following day, their Bayern Munich teammate Harry Kane suffered the same heartbreak, as England were beaten 1-2 by Argentina in the other semi-final, adding another chapter to the Three Lions' long history of World Cup disappointment.

Now, the two teams are preparing for one final dance at the 2026 World Cup in Saturday's third-place playoff – a match that is widely disliked, as it involves two teams who came agonisingly close to reaching the final.

"None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match," England coach Thomas Tuchel said after England's semi-final defeat to Argentina, according to AFP.

"They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but that's how it is.

"We have one less day of recovery than France, but we will do it with professionalism."

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the final, France coach Didier Deschamps said his team will “do everything” to finish the tournament with a victory.

"There's a third-place finish to play for, so we'll do everything we can to get it," Deschamps said after his team's loss to Spain.

"We're not where we wanted or expected to be. The disappointment matches our ambitions, but we have to accept it. We have no other choice."

For Harry Kane, Saturday's match could potentially be his final World Cup appearance amid speculation that the 33-year-old may not still be an England international at the 2030 World Cup.

The Bayern Munich star wasn't interested in discussing his international future after the defeat to Argentina.

"It's too early to talk about that," he said.

"I'm taking it year by year and the national team is my pride and joy. It's what I love to do more than anything.... I never want to put a limit on these things."

Kane has scored six goals at this World Cup, leaving him two behind Golden Boot leaders Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, who are both on eight goals.

At the same time, Mbappé is just one goal behind Messi in the all-time World Cup scoring charts heading into Saturday's game against England, with 20 goals compared to Messi's 21.

Team news and predicted lineups:

Saturday's game could provide an opportunity for both teams to give minutes to players who have not featured heavily at the World Cup so far, although exactly how much they plan to rotate is difficult to predict.

William Saliba is ruled out for France after suffering an injury against Spain, with Maxence Lacroix expected to step in at the heart of defence.

Reece James could miss the match for England after suffering another injury setback, with the defender forced off late in the defeat to Argentina with a suspected muscular problem.

Jordan Henderson (wrist) is also sidelined, but England head coach Thomas Tuchel should otherwise have a full squad available, with Bayer Leverkusen's Jarell Quansah returning from suspension to bolster the defence.

Click here to see our predicted England vs. France lineups.