England will face France in the World Cup bronze final this weekend following their semi-final defeat to Argentina.
The Three Lions were 1-0 up and heading toward the final before Argentina scored twice in the last 15 minutes.
The two losing semi-finalists will now participate in the third-place play-off in Miami, which neither will be excited about.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has even admitted that “none of these players want to play this match.”
“They want to play in the final… We have a day less to recover, but we will do it professionally.”
Here is our predicted lineup for England’s bronze final match against France on Saturday, with several changes expected.
Predicted England XI vs France in the World Cup third-place play-off
Managers usually pick strong teams for the bronze final, even though the players are still disappointed about losing the semi-final.
Also, Thomas Tuchel will not want to lose consecutive games, and France will punish England if they are not focused.
However, Tuchel will probably not take any risks with players carrying injuries, as the 2026/27 season is only weeks away.
This would rule out Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Reece James, and Jordan Henderson from the starting lineup.
Jordan Pickford will likely keep his place in goal, with Jarrel Quansah potentially returning from his suspension at right-back.
32-year-old John Stones could be rested, with Ezri Konsa partnering Marc Guehi in the centre of England’s defence.
Djed Spence arguably was the Three Lions’ best player against Argentina and deserves to keep his place in the team.
With Rice missing out, Jude Bellingham could drop deeper to accompany Elliott Anderson in central midfield.
This would allow Morgan Rogers to play in his preferred attacking midfield position, with Noni Madueke on the right wing.
Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane’s inclusions in the starting XI would suggest that England are taking the game seriously.
England predicted XI: Pickford; Quansah, Konsa, Guehi, Spence; Bellingham, Anderson; Madueke, Rogers, Gordon; Kane
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