Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Saturday’s rebranded “bronze final” between France and England in Miami might feel like a modern, Gianni-coded exercise in squeezing the product dry, but the third-place playoff is a staple of World Cup history, even if it remains the game nobody wants to play in. The very first TPPO came in 1934, Germany defeating Austria 3-2 in a match engulfed in murky, menacing geopolitics. Thankfully, the fixture quickly became a more knockabout affair – Brazil swaggered on to the world stage by beating Sweden 4-2 in 1938, and France put six past West Germany in a nine-goal feast of football 20 years later. Just Fontaine scored four that day, later to be joined by Thomas Müller, Davor Suker and Toto Schillaci in using the fixture to pad their Golden Boot stats – a tactic Kylian Mbappé might want to try against a punch-drunk England side and pip Lionel Messi to another personal accolade as a result.I seem to recall that the GWC has been hosted by three countries, who advanced to the same stage of the competition, making them at least equal as far as ability to compete is concerned. So, surely, any presentations at the final should be represented and handed over by Canada, Mexico and USA USA USA, on behalf of Fifa, and not only by Donald Trump?” – Dave Butler.So Donald Trump will be attending the GWC final … what further imaginary award will Infantino pull out of the hat for him at the end? The Ballon d’Orange perhaps?” – Phil TavernerRe: naming the 2030 World Cup (Football Daily letters passim): split across three global power zones, it sounds like an Aldous Huxley dystopian vision. How about Brave New World Cup?” – Daniel SolomonsThis is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions. Continue reading...

France finally let loose all their attacking power in this tournament and yet when the big test came against Spain they were too openMaybe Didier Deschamps was right all along. He has been criticised over his 14 years in the France job for being too cautious, for prioritising control, for not unleashing his great fleet of attacking players. In this tournament, his last as national manager, Deschamps has relaxed – from a tactical point of view at least; he remains as grouchy as ever in his public utterances. France have played some glorious football over the past few weeks but when it came down to it, against the first truly elite side they faced, they were overrun. France could have done with being a little more Deschamps.The paradox at this tournament was always that the better France played, the more of a waste the eight years since they won the World Cup appeared. Admiration for their attacking excellence in the US has been tempered by a sense of regret for the potential beauty and joy Deschamps’ cussedness has denied the world over the past decade. This was the France they could have been all that time, playing with elan and panache, evoking legitimate comparison to the glorious France of the early-to-mid 80s. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Sure, an Argentina-England Geopolitics World Cup semi-final has a lot going for it. It’ll be 40 years since the Hand of God and, somehow, the first meeting between the two teams since an incredibly rare event: a memorable friendly, with Michael Owen’s late headers setting up a 3-2 victory in Geneva 21 years ago. In Atlanta, England supporters will finally have the chance to send some choice words in the direction of Lionel Messi. But we all know that the real show – the final in spirit, the game that’ll be far easier on the eye – is the other one: Les Bleus against La Roja.Filling the gap in GWC action, I just watched Ein Sommer in Italien, the story of the 1990 World Cup from the perspective of the West German national team. It’s a fascinating documentary piece that mixes old home movie clips, archive TV footage, and fresh interviews with the 1990 squad. One moment really stood out. Having beaten Czechoslovakia to reach the semi-final, their manager Franz Beckenbauer wasn’t impressed. Interviewed on German TV straight after the game, he said: ‘It was an awful performance. I simply cannot understand how we played worse against 10 Czechs than against 11.’ As (substitute goalkeeper) Raimond Aumann recalled: ‘We’d won 1-0 and we were actually very happy with the result. Only one person wasn’t happy, and that was Franz.’ With the knowledge of what that German team went on to achieve, here’s hoping there’s a parallel with today’s England squad/manager dynamic” – Roger Mart. Continue reading...

The striker is driven by a sense of destiny but to be remembered as an all-time great outside England requires big-game performancesFive days to win the Ballon d’Or. The way to do it: outshine Lionel Messi in Atlanta, then see off Kylian Mbappé or Lamine Yamal on Sunday. For Harry Kane, nothing will come without a fight. The England captain was doubted when he was a kid, back when the youth coaches at Tottenham wondered if it was worth keeping him, and he faces another seismic battle against Argentina on Wednesday.This could be the crowning moment of Kane’s career. The Bayern Munich striker has enjoyed the season of his life, with more domestic trophies in the bag and 73 goals in 64 appearances for club and country. There are more steps to take, though. The chance to lead England into a first World Cup final abroad is within reach. All Kane has to do to is outperform the greatest footballer of all time. Continue reading...

France face Spain in tonight's World Cup semi-final with captain Kylian Mbappe looking to fire Les Bleus to a third successive final under the guidance of outgoing coach Didier Deschamps

France boss Didier Deschamps is predicting a "spectacular" semi-final when his exciting side take on Spain in a heavyweight World Cup showdown in Dallas.

Zaïre-Emery confident Les Bleus will deliver in DallasDeschamps to bring Tchouaméni into lineup if fitThe France midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery says his team want to exact revenge on Spain and banish painful memories of their exit in the Euro 2024 semi-final.France and Spain meet again on Tuesday in search of a place in the World Cup final, an even more glittering prize than the one Luis de la Fuente’s team grabbed two years ago. Back then Spain were worthy winners in Munich but a revitalised France have turned their fortunes around, blazing a trail to the last four with some scintillating attacking football. Continue reading...

Head coach has found a way to get the best out of his glittering attack and has a second World Cup in sightIt was a night when, as Didier Deschamps put it, the light went out by half-time. A remodelled France side had been comfortably beaten by Italy in their Nations League opener and a Parisian crowd made their feelings perfectly clear upon the conclusion. Three days later Les Bleus’ roadshow moved to Lyon for a meeting with Belgium, where the head coach’s name was booed before kick-off. Deschamps attributed that to provincial enmities but there was the clear sense of a once glorious tenure outlasting its welcome.Almost two years on, Deschamps stands on the verge of genuine greatness. How can the assessment be any other way when, should the next six days go to plan, he would be only the second manager to win the World Cup twice? The power is firmly back on for France and will surge to new levels if they underline his renaissance against Spain. Continue reading...

Kylian Mbappe almost joined Liverpool several years ago with more details having come to light

Didier Deschamps’ decision to give the inspirational forward the captaincy has paid off with no complacency on their run to the semi-finalsThe driving force behind France’s semi-final win over Morocco in 2022, Antoine Griezmann, was watching on from the stands this time as Les Bleus powered past the Atlas Lions to reach a third consecutive World Cup semi-final.The 35-year-old, who recently completed a move to Orlando City, had not attended a France match since his international retirement in 2024 following a brief stint as vice-captain. Continue reading...