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South Florida’s final World Cup match is Saturday.
The day before Spain and Argentina play for the world title, England and France will play for the bronze medal at Miami Stadium (aka Hard Rock Stadium) at 5 p.m.
Although players on both teams had their eyes on the championship, the bronze medal offers a consolation. The winning side in the bronze final earns $29 million while the fourth-place squad earns $27 million. The result could also affect the teams’ FIFA rankings, and it allows stars like Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham an additional chance to win the Golden Boot.
Here is what you need to know about the last two teams playing in South Florida:
— Manager: Thomas Tuchel (previously coached Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Bayern Munich)
— FIFA ranking: 4th
— World Cup appearances: 17
— Best finish: Champions (1966)
— Star players: FW Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), MF Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), MF Declan Rice (Arsenal), GK Jordan Pickford (Everton)
— How they reached the bronze final: England performed well in the group stage, winning Group L with seven points. All of England’s knockout matches were intense. England fell behind 1-0 early against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 32 before coming back to win. The English eliminated Mexico in Mexico City in the round of 16 and needed extra time to beat Erling Haaland and Norway in the quarterfinals in Miami.
England faced Argentina in the semifinals and nearly took down the reigning champions. England held a 1-0 lead until the 85th minute, and Lautaro Martínez scored the winner for Argentina in stoppage time.
— What to watch for: If England plays its full lineup, both Kane and Bellingham could make an improbable run at the Golden Boot. Both of the English stars have six goals, two behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe. Both players have notched two braces (two goals in a game) in the tournament, so a two-goal performance is not out of the question. But both stars have just one assist each in the tournament, so even if they tied Messi (four assists) and Mbappe (three assists), they would still be behind them in the race.
If England win the bronze, it would be the team’s best finish at the World Cup since winning the title in 1966. England has finished in fourth place twice since 1966, losing the bronze match in 1990 (against Italy) and 2018 (against Belgium).
— Manager: Didier Deschamps (previously coached Monaco, Marseille and Juventus, and he has coached the French team since 2012)
— FIFA ranking: 3rd
— World Cup appearances: 17
— Best finish: Champions (1998, 2018)
— Star players: FW Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), FW Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), MF Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), DF William Saliba (Arsenal)
— How they reached the bronze final: France dominated its tournament run all the way until the semifinals. The French outscored opponents 10-2 in group play en route to winning Group I. France blew out Sweden 3-0 in the first knockout round and beat Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16. After 60 minutes without a goal in the quarterfinal matchup with Morocco, France scored twice in seven minutes to secure a 2-0 victory.
Matched up with reigning European champions Spain in the semifinal, France gave up an early goal on a penalty and allowed Pedro Porro to score in the 58th minute, which proved to be too much for the French to overcome.
— What to watch for: Mbappe is arguably the best striker in the world, and he has had an excellent World Cup. He is closer to winning the Golden Boot than Kane or Bellingham, entering Saturday’s match with eight goals and three assists. If Messi goes scoreless with no assists against Spain, Mbappe can win the Golden Boot with a goal or two assists.
The French team features one of the best offensive attacks in the world. In addition Mbappe, Dembele has five World Cup goals, and Olise has a tournament-leading five assists.
Continue reading...
The day before Spain and Argentina play for the world title, England and France will play for the bronze medal at Miami Stadium (aka Hard Rock Stadium) at 5 p.m.
Although players on both teams had their eyes on the championship, the bronze medal offers a consolation. The winning side in the bronze final earns $29 million while the fourth-place squad earns $27 million. The result could also affect the teams’ FIFA rankings, and it allows stars like Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham an additional chance to win the Golden Boot.
Here is what you need to know about the last two teams playing in South Florida:
England
— Manager: Thomas Tuchel (previously coached Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Bayern Munich)
— FIFA ranking: 4th
— World Cup appearances: 17
— Best finish: Champions (1966)
— Star players: FW Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), MF Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), MF Declan Rice (Arsenal), GK Jordan Pickford (Everton)
— How they reached the bronze final: England performed well in the group stage, winning Group L with seven points. All of England’s knockout matches were intense. England fell behind 1-0 early against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 32 before coming back to win. The English eliminated Mexico in Mexico City in the round of 16 and needed extra time to beat Erling Haaland and Norway in the quarterfinals in Miami.
England faced Argentina in the semifinals and nearly took down the reigning champions. England held a 1-0 lead until the 85th minute, and Lautaro Martínez scored the winner for Argentina in stoppage time.
— What to watch for: If England plays its full lineup, both Kane and Bellingham could make an improbable run at the Golden Boot. Both of the English stars have six goals, two behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe. Both players have notched two braces (two goals in a game) in the tournament, so a two-goal performance is not out of the question. But both stars have just one assist each in the tournament, so even if they tied Messi (four assists) and Mbappe (three assists), they would still be behind them in the race.
If England win the bronze, it would be the team’s best finish at the World Cup since winning the title in 1966. England has finished in fourth place twice since 1966, losing the bronze match in 1990 (against Italy) and 2018 (against Belgium).
France
— Manager: Didier Deschamps (previously coached Monaco, Marseille and Juventus, and he has coached the French team since 2012)
— FIFA ranking: 3rd
— World Cup appearances: 17
— Best finish: Champions (1998, 2018)
— Star players: FW Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), FW Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), MF Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), DF William Saliba (Arsenal)
— How they reached the bronze final: France dominated its tournament run all the way until the semifinals. The French outscored opponents 10-2 in group play en route to winning Group I. France blew out Sweden 3-0 in the first knockout round and beat Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16. After 60 minutes without a goal in the quarterfinal matchup with Morocco, France scored twice in seven minutes to secure a 2-0 victory.
Matched up with reigning European champions Spain in the semifinal, France gave up an early goal on a penalty and allowed Pedro Porro to score in the 58th minute, which proved to be too much for the French to overcome.
— What to watch for: Mbappe is arguably the best striker in the world, and he has had an excellent World Cup. He is closer to winning the Golden Boot than Kane or Bellingham, entering Saturday’s match with eight goals and three assists. If Messi goes scoreless with no assists against Spain, Mbappe can win the Golden Boot with a goal or two assists.
The French team features one of the best offensive attacks in the world. In addition Mbappe, Dembele has five World Cup goals, and Olise has a tournament-leading five assists.
Continue reading...
