France defender Ibrahima Konate has described the upcoming World Cup third-place playoff match against England as "the game no one wants to play." The two nations are set to meet at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday after both suffered semi-final defeats. France lost 2-0 to Spain, while England conceded a late goal to fall 2-1 to Argentina.
Konate, speaking at a pre-match conference, acknowledged the difficult nature of playing for third place. "Not one of us wanted to play this game for third place, but we don't have a choice," he stated. Despite the sentiment, he added that France is looking forward to the match, noting the "big story" between the two teams.
This encounter will be the final match of Didier Deschamps' 14-year tenure as France manager. Deschamps, who led France to victory in 2018 and also won the World Cup as a player, expressed pride in his team's achievements, stating, "I am very proud of everything we've done to reach this stage and to win a World Cup - to take the French team to the highest level."
For England, the match offers a chance to secure the nation's best World Cup finish in sixty years. Their last appearance in a third-place playoff, after losing to Croatia in the semi-finals eight years prior, resulted in a 2-0 defeat to Belgium.
England manager Thomas Tuchel echoed Konate's sentiments, telling reporters that "none of our players and none of the French players want to play this match." He added that while players aim to win the World Cup, they will approach the playoff match professionally, despite having one less day of recovery than France.
Tuchel defended his tactical decisions following the semi-final loss, including substitutions made after England had taken the lead. He explained that his intention was to address a perceived lack of structure and passive play, stating, "We couldn't find any duels anymore; that's why we dropped deeper and deeper. It was never the plan, but it happened."
The upcoming match between France and England is a rematch of sorts, as France defeated England 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the previous World Cup in Qatar. France went on to reach the final that year but was beaten by Argentina.