This Saturday, the French national team will play the 2026 World Cup third-place match against England at 11:00 PM CET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Ahead of the encounter, Le Parisien and L’Equipe have attempted to predict the lineups that French manager Didier Deschamps and his English counterpart Thomas Tuchel will field. The match involves five Paris Saint-Germain players—all French: Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé.
France (4-2-3-1):
Mbappé
Doué – Cherki – Akliouche or Olise
Rabiot – Koné or Zaïre-Emery
T. Hernandez – Lacroix – Konaté – Gusto
Maignan.
England (4-2-3-1):
Kane
Rashford – Rogers – Saka
Anderson – Bellingham
O’Reilly – Guéhi – Burn – Quansah
Pickford
These lineups are entirely plausible, though uncertain for this unique match. Winning is preferable, especially to end on a high note, yet the level of determination is inevitably different compared to the rest of the tournament or the final they had hoped to reach.
Players who have seen little action so far might get some playing time, while the usual starters are still processing the physical and psychological toll of their defeat. The third-place play-off is a unique fixture, and the lineups may reflect that. We will await the official announcement—expected about an hour and a half before kickoff—for confirmation.
