What is France’s record against England? All-time head-to-head record ahead of 2026 World Cup 3rd and 4th place game
In Miami today, England and France meet for the second straight men’s World Cup when they face off in the third-place match.
At Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, France and England meet for the fourth time at a men’s World Cup - but their enthusiasm for today’s matchup appears somewhat lower than in previous iterations of the fixture. After midweek semifinal defeats to Spain and Argentina, respectively, Les Bleus and the Three Lions will contest the third-place playoff, a game both coaches have said they could happily skip.
“None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,” England boss Thomas Tuchel has said. Tuchel’s counterpart Didier Deschamps, who will be taking charge of France for the final time, agreed: “England does not want to play this game, and neither do we. But here we are.”
France and England’s previous World Cup meetings - a look back:
The mood around today’s third-place playoff contrasts with France and England’s hotly-anticipated World Cup clash four years ago, when the teams collided in a thrilling quarterfinal encounter in Qatar. At Al Bayt Stadium, Olivier Giroud’s late header earned a 2-1 win for the defending champions, who benefited from an uncharacteristic penalty miss by Harry Kane. Blazed over the bar with six minutes to go, it was the England captain’s second spot-kick of the game: earlier, Kane had scored from 12 yards, beating then-clubmate Hugo Lloris to cancel out Aurélien Tchouaméni’s opener.
For France, who finished as runners-up at Qatar 2022, that last-eight victory was their first at a men’s World Cup against England, who currently lead the teams’ tournament series 2-1.
The most recent of those two English victories, though, dates back to more than four decades ago. In the teams’ opening group game in 1982, England swept to a 3-1 win in Bilbao, thanks in part to one of the fastest goals ever seen at a men’s World Cup. After just 28 seconds at San Mamés, Bryan Robson netted what is currently the fourth-earliest strike in the tournament’s history. Robson then scored again after a Gérard Soler leveller, before Paul Mariner added a third for Ron Greenwood’s side.
However, it was the French who progressed further in Spain. While England exited (unbeaten, admittedly) in the second group stage, Michel Platini and Co. reached the semifinals. There, they lost to West Germany in one of the World Cup’s great last-four encounters, beaten in the tournament’s first ever penalty shootout.
Twenty years earlier, France had been the final group-stage opponents on England’s path towards their sole world title. At Wembley in July 1966, Liverpool striker Roger Hunt scored twice either side of half time, securing a 2-0 English victory that ensured the hosts finished top of Group 1. The French, meanwhile, came bottom, having failed to win a game.
At a glance - France and England’s World Cup meetings:
- 2022 quarterfinals: England 1-2 France
- 1982 group stage: England 3-1 France
- 1966 group stage: England 2-0 France
What is the teams’ overall H2H record?
Per stats compiled by Soccerway, France have the inferior head-to-head record not only at World Cups, but also overall. Starting with a friendly meeting in May 1923, there have been 16 wins for England, five draws, and 10 wins for France.
But half of those England triumphs were all the way back in the pre-war period. In Miami today, a win for France would be far more in keeping with the most recent results between the teams. Since 2000, indeed, the countries have met eight times in all competitions, with France winning five - included the last two. England, on the other hand, have managed only a single victory, in a November 2015 friendly.
Not least because neither coach appears terribly up for today’s third-place playoff, the outcome of the game may be influenced by significant rotation to the teams’ first-choice lineups. As things stand, though, the bookmakers are backing the French with -110 odds of victory, while England are priced at +320.
The soccer stats site Opta also favors France, a team that sits above the English in the FIFA world rankings. Opta’s ‘supercomputer’ gives Les Bleus a 50.7% chance of winning inside 90 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium - just under double England’s probability of 25.6%.
At a glance - every France vs England since 2000:
- Dec. 2022: England 1-2 France, World Cup
- Jun. 2017: France 3-2 England, friendly
- Nov. 2015: England 2-0 France, friendly
- Jun. 2012: France 1-1 England, Euros
- Nov. 2010: England 1-2 France, friendly
- Mar. 2008: France 1-0 England, friendly
- Jun. 2004: France 2-1 England, Euros
- Sep. 2000: France 1-1 England, friendly
France vs England: kickoff times, how to watch in the U.S.
In the 2026 World Cup third-place playoff, France and England meet today, Saturday, July 18, with kickoff at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the game on Fox Network, Telemundo, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Universo, Fox One and fubo. You can also follow live-text commentary of the action with AS USA.
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