Declan Rice gives England early lead against France in World Cup third-place play-off

Declan Rice scored England’s opening goal against France just three minutes after kick-off in the third-place play-off at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held at Miami Stadium. This match marks the 103rd fixture of the tournament.

Rice’s goal came from a powerful shot that found the bottom left corner past France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, giving England an early 1-0 advantage.

Starting line-ups

France started with Maignan in goal, Gusto, Konaté, Lacroix, Theo Hernandez, Zaïre-Emery, Rabiot, Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Doué, and Kylian Mbappé.

England’s line-up featured Henderson in goal, Quansah, Konsa, Guehi, Spence, Rice, Eze, Saka, Rogers, Rashford, and Ivan Toney in attack.

France’s tournament journey

France began their campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal, followed by a 3-0 victory against Iraq, and topped their group after defeating Norway 4-1. In the knockout stages, France overcame Sweden, Paraguay, and Morocco before their run ended in the semi-finals with a 2-0 loss to Spain in Dallas.

England’s path to the bronze

England’s journey was more turbulent, starting with a 4-2 win over Croatia, a goalless draw with Ghana, and topping their group after beating Panama. In the round of 32, they came from behind to defeat DR Congo thanks to two goals from Harry Kane, then advanced past Mexico and Norway in the knockout rounds to reach the semi-finals. However, England lost to Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, setting up the third-place match against France.