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‘Neither do we, but here we are’: Deschamps admits France's last World Cup assignment is a match nobody truly wanted
Didier Deschamps admitted France do not want the World Cup third-place match against England but said they have a duty to win bronze in Miami.
Thomas Tuchel admitted neither England nor France wanted to contest the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place playoff, but Didier Deschamps has insisted his players still have a responsibility to finish the tournament by securing the bronze medal.
England and France meet in Miami on Saturday after suffering painful semi-final exits. France’s hopes of reaching a third successive World Cup final were ended by a 2-0 defeat to Spain, while England conceded twice late in their 2-1 loss to Argentina.
Tuchel made no attempt to disguise the sense of disappointment surrounding a fixture featuring two teams that arrived at the tournament with ambitions of lifting the trophy.
“None of these players, none of the French players want to play this match. They want to play in the final. We gave everything to be in the final,” Tuchel said after England’s semi-final defeat.
The England manager reiterated the sentiment at his pre-match press conference, saying nobody wanted to be involved in Saturday’s contest because all four semi-finalists had hoped to be playing in the final in New York. However, he acknowledged that it remained an official World Cup match and an opportunity for England to demonstrate their progress against one of the strongest teams in international football.
Deschamps insists France have a duty to win bronze
Deschamps echoed Tuchel’s admission that neither side wanted the third-place assignment. However, with Saturday’s game marking the end of his 14-year tenure as France coach, he stressed that disappointment could not become an excuse for failing to compete.
“I have a duty for this game. It is not a friendly. It is a third-place playoff. The players, staff, and I have the duty to reach this last objective. It is less important than the final. England does not want to play this game, and neither do we. But here we are,” Deschamps said at Friday’s press conference.
“We have to set our eyes on that goal to be third and make this final goal a reality. We have this duty when wearing this jersey. In my head, I know that it is my last match. I don’t want anybody to cry. The end is near, but life goes on.”
Deschamps led France to the 2018 World Cup title and another final in 2022, while also taking the national team to three consecutive World Cup semi-finals. Saturday’s match will bring down the curtain on one of the longest and most successful managerial tenures in international football.
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France defender Ibrahima Konaté admitted the players were still struggling to accept their semi-final elimination but said they wanted to give Deschamps a winning farewell.
“None of us wanted to play for this third place, but we have no choice. We want to pay back our coach,” Konaté said. “He did so much for the France team. We must be grateful to him for that, and we need to do everything we can to win this game... to get this chocolate medal, this bronze medal.”
Deschamps is expected to make several changes because of injuries and player availability. He did not confirm whether captain Kylian Mbappé would start, saying only that the forward was available for selection.
