The Bronze Final - the unwanted tie or a match with a 'golden layer'?

ByGreg Barringer-Grimes

BBC Sport quality editor

It's a lucifer that has been played astatine each Fifa World Cup for the past 72 years.

The third-place play-off - known by Fifa arsenic the Bronze Final - and connected Saturday it is the crook of England and France.

France caput manager Didier Deschamps summed up the temper successful his campy earlier the crippled successful Miami erstwhile helium said: "The champion for France and England would beryllium for this lucifer not to exist."

England manager Thomas Tuchel had a akin presumption aft the decision by Argentina successful Atlanta connected Wednesday night, saying: "None of our players and nary of the French players privation to play this match."

But addressing the media connected Friday, Tuchel was much affirmative astir the accidental to triumph bronze. "If we triumph the crippled tomorrow, we person the champion results of a World Cup successful 60 years. It's a position to it," helium said.

The play-off does springiness the accidental for players who person struggled for minutes oregon are yet to diagnostic astatine the tourney to person their infinitesimal connected the pitch. And past determination are the fans who person paid for tickets and travel, expecting the teams to enactment connected a show.

England whitethorn usage the crippled arsenic an accidental to present James Trafford to World Cup shot oregon springiness Kobbie Mainoo his archetypal World Cup minutes successful an England shirt.

Former France and Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has played 14 minutes for France, successful the 3rd radical crippled against a heavily-rotated Norway broadside - though helium is not relishing the imaginable of adding to those minutes successful Miami.

"Not 1 of america privation to play this crippled for 3rd place," helium said. "But we don't person the choice."

The third-place play-off was archetypal introduced successful 1934 and became a regular fixture from 1954.

England person competed successful it doubly since 1966, losing to hosts Italy successful 1990 and to Belgium successful 2018 successful Russia.

Croatia embraced the lucifer successful 2022 contempt having gone 1 amended successful 2018 erstwhile they were runners-up to France - though Morocco caput manager Walid Regragui described it arsenic a "booby prize".

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic said aft their 2-1 triumph implicit Morocco that the triumph meant a batch to the squad and country.

"We won the bronze medal and it has a aureate layer," helium said. "It is similar we person won the golden medal tonight."

Croatia's match-winner that night, Mislav Orsic, described his extremity arsenic the astir important of his career.

But aft a record-breaking World Cup for matches played (it volition beryllium the 103rd of a 104-match tournament), is simply a third-place play-off necessary?

Fifa does not people a agelong defence of the fixture, but the reasons mostly acknowledged astir the tourney are:

Well it has produced respective World Cup Golden Boot winners.

Of the 7 to person scored goals successful the third-place play-off, 4 of those required the goals they scored successful that lucifer to triumph the award.

Germany's Thomas Muller (2010), Croatia's Davor Suker (1998), Italy's Salvatore Schillaci (1990) and Leonidas of Brazil (1938) each benefited.

Grzegorz Lato of Poland (1974), Portugal large Eusebio (1966) and France's Just Fontaine (1958) besides won the grant and scored successful the third-place play-off.

Harry Kane - the tournament's Golden Boot victor successful 2018 - started England's third-place play-off with Belgium but did not people successful the match.

The crippled besides tends to nutrient goals. You volition person to spell backmost 52 years to find a lucifer that did not nutrient astatine slightest 2 goals - 11 of the 12 matches since 1974 person produced much than three.

Before beating Brazil 3-0 successful 2014, the Netherlands caput manager Louis van Gaal called the lucifer unfair.

He said: "This lucifer should ne'er beryllium played. I've been saying that for 10 years; it's unfair."

The crippled took spot days aft the Netherlands' semi-final punishment shootout decision by Argentina and aft Brazil's humiliating 7-1 nonaccomplishment to Germany connected location soil.

Van Gaal added: "The worst happening is that determination is simply a accidental you are going to suffer doubly successful a row.

"And successful a tourney successful which you person played truthful marvellously good you spell location arsenic a loser.

Before England's past quality successful the third-place play-off, Gareth Southgate said: "The honorable happening is it's not a crippled immoderate squad wants to play in."

But determination is nary proposition it volition beryllium scrapped anytime soon. The necktie gives Fifa a definitive finishing order, and winning a bronze medal tin mean a batch for countries who seldom get to that signifier of the competition.

The question present is whether it past a 64-team World Cup that would spot 128 matches played implicit a six-week period.