France, England prepare for gloomy World Cup send-off

MIAMI: France and England will bid a gloomy farewell to the World Cup on Saturday when they face each other in the dreaded third-place play-off in Miami.
Both teams head to Florida still raw from semifinal defeats that have left both footballing nations licking wounds, which, in the eyes of many, were largely self-inflicted.
France, the tournament’s outstanding team en route to the last four, were anonymous in the face of a tactical masterclass by Spain on Tuesday and slumped to a 2-0 defeat.
England added another chapter to their long history of World Cup heartache on Wednesday when they surrendered the initiative and a lead to lose 2-1 to Argentina in Atlanta.
France and England must now attempt to summon the remnants of their competitive will and physical reserves for a game that is widely disliked throughout football.
“None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said after his team’s agonizing semifinal defeat.
“They want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but that’s how it is.
“We have one less day of recovery than France, but we will do it with professionalism.”

- Sad footnote for Deschamps -

The match will mark a sad footnote to Didier Deschamps’ long reign as France coach.
Deschamps, who, like Tuchel, has faced stinging criticism for the tactical decisions that marked his team’s semifinal defeat, is stepping down as manager after the tournament.
The 57-year-old’s departure ends a successful 14-year spell in charge that included a World Cup triumph in 2018, defeat in the final in Qatar in 2022 and a run to the last four in the current tournament.
“There’s a third-place finish to play for, so