Do third-place play-offs ever matter to Les Bleus? | OneFootball

Beaten 0-2 by Spain on Tuesday, France will contest the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday at 23:00, the fourth time in their history they have fallen at the semi-final stage. According to L'Équipe, the question is whether there will be enough appetite to win it.

In 1958, after reaching the World Cup semi-finals before a 2-5 loss to Brazil, France met West Germany for bronze. They won 6-3, Just Fontaine scoring four to finish top scorer with 13 goals, an all-time record. France then waited 58 years, until their Euro 2016 semi-final win 2-0, to beat Germany again at a major finals.

By contrast, the 1982 edition carried little joy. After the Seville trauma, beaten by West Germany on penalties having led 3-1 in extra time, 3-3, 4-5 on spot-kicks, France played because they had to. Michel Hidalgo picked a second string and they lost 3-2 to Poland.

In 1986 the 2-0 semi-final loss to West Germany felt different, less injustice and more underperformance. The idea was to respond and finish well. Reserves, set to step up after the announced international retirements of Maxime Bossis, Alain Giresse, Michel Platini and Dominique Rocheteau, beat Belgium 4-2 after extra time through Jean-Marc Ferreri, Jean-Pierre Papin, Bernard Genghini and Manuel Amoros.

For 2026, the Miami play-off may not stir the soul, yet it is still better to finish third than fourth.

Source: L'Équipe