It’s the game that no one wanted to be in as England prepare to take on France in the third-place play-off of the FIFA World Cup 2026. First introduced in 1934, the match decides who goes home with the bronze medal, though both sides would be playing in Sunday’s final.England have twice featured in this fixture, in 1990 and 2018, but have never won it, while France have won two of their three appearances in this round.Some may call it a pointless match, but we will never turn our noses up at more World Cup football. Can England finally clinch a third-place finish or will France be too strong for them?Every third-place play-off winner in FIFA World Cup history:1930: United StatesAs there was no third-place play-off in 1930, the USA were ranked third by dint of their record in the tournament ahead of the other losing semi-finalist, Yugoslavia.1934: GermanyResult: Germany 3-2 Austria1938: BrazilResult: Brazil 4-2 Sweden1950: SwedenResult: Sweden 3-1 Spain1954: AustriaResult: Austria 3-1 Uruguay1958: FranceResult: France 6-3 West Germany1962: ChileResult: Chile 1-0 Yugoslavia1966: PortugalResult: Portugal 2-1 Soviet Union1970: West GermanyResult: West Germany 1-0 Uruguay1974: PolandResult: Poland 1-0 Brazil1978: BrazilResult: Brazil 2-1 Italy1982: PolandResult: Poland 3-2 France1986: FranceResult: France 4-2 Belgium (AET)1990: ItalyResult: Italy 2-1 EnglandOn This Day 1990BBC World Cup Grandstand….LIVE6:30 – 9:00 pm3rd/4th Place Play-OffThe final game in Italia 90 for England.Another mistake by Peter Shilton, and another goal for Toto Schillaci, in Italy’s 2-1 Victory in Bari.Bobby Robson had planned to give reserve… pic.twitter.com/93gmXwavDH— TV Football 1968-92 (@1968Tv) July 7, 20261994: SwedenResult: Sweden 4-0 Bulgaria1998: CroatiaResult: Croatia 2-1 Netherlands2002: TurkeyResult: Turkey 3-2 South Korea2006: GermanyResult: Germany 3-1 Portugal2010: GermanyResult: Germany 3-2 Uruguay2014: NetherlandsResult: Netherlands 3-0 Brazil2018: BelgiumResult: Belgium 2-0 England2022: CroatiaResult: Croatia 2-1 MoroccoRead – England criticised for lack of bravery in possession after Argentina defeatSee Also – Argentina extend remarkable World Cup semi-final recordFollow the Football Faithful on Social Media:Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTokThe post Every third-place play-off winner in FIFA World Cup history first appeared on The Football Faithful.