World Cup 2026 – Third place play-off: History of France – England encounters

18.07.26 FT World Cup

France

4

:

England

6

Defeated by Argentina (2-1), England will face France on Saturday, July 18 at 9pm GMT for the third place in the 2026 World Cup.

Before this showdown, the two sides have clashed 32 times. The English have come out on top 17 times, with 5 draws and 10 defeats. They have netted 72 goals, while the French have found the back of the net on 41 occasions.

There have been three France-England meetings in the World Cup finals. The first two, in the group stages of the 1966 and 1982 editions, were won by the Three Lions. Les Bleus claimed victory in the most recent, the 2022 World Cup quarter-final, with a 2-1 scoreline.

The largest English win was a 6-0 thrashing in a friendly on May 26, 1927. The French recorded two 5-2 wins, in 1931 and 1963.

Here are all the matches between the two teams:

1923 - Friendly: France - England (1-4)

1924 - Friendly: France - England (1-3)

1925 - Friendly: France - England (2-3)

1927 - Friendly: France - England (0-6)

1928 - Friendly: France - England (1-5)

1929 - Friendly: France - England (1-4)

1931 - Friendly: France - England (5-2)

1933 - Friendly: England - France (4-1)

1938 - Friendly: France - England (2-4)

1947 - Friendly: England - France (3-0)

1949 - Friendly: France - England (1-3)

1951 - Friendly: England - France (2-2)

1955 - Friendly: France - England (1-0)

1957 - Friendly: England - France (4-0)

1962 - Euro Qualifiers: England - France (1-1)

1963 - Euro Qualifiers: France - England (5-2)

1966 - World Cup (group stage): England - France (2-0)

1969 - Friendly: England - France (5-0)

1982 - World Cup (group stage): England - France (3-1)

1984 - Friendly: France - England (2-0)

1992 - Friendly: England - France (2-0)

1992 - Euro (group stage): France - England (0-0)

1997 - Friendly: France - England (0-1)

1999 - Friendly: England - France (0-2)

2000 - Friendly: France - England (1-1)

2004 - Euro (group stage): France - England (2-1)

2008 - Friendly: France - England (1-0)

2010 - Friendly: England - France (1-2)

2012 - Euro (group stage): France - England (1-1)

2015 - Friendly: England - France (2-0)

2017 - Friendly: France - England (3-2)

2022 - World Cup (quarter-final): England - France (1-2)

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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