| Topic: France 4 England 6 |
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| 1. Author: RhinoPars Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 08:38 What an entertaining game that was. England going 4-0 in the first half only to be pegged back to 4-3 in the second half and then to go two ahead again with a penalty only for France to once again reduce the deficit to one goal at 5-4 only for Bellingham to score England’s sixth (and his seventh of the tournament) with the last kick of the game after a solo run. Mbappé got two to go two ahead of Messi with 10 goals (to become all time World Cup scorer with 22 and Saka got a hat-trick, There could have been more than ten goals. While less pressure in this game, England must still be kicking themselves for those defensive substitutions and sitting back and trying to hold on to their 1-0 lead against Argentina. Post Edited (Sun 19 Jul 09:20) Reply |
| 2. Author: dd23 Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 09:43 They definitely will RP. Reply |
| 3. Author: thebear Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 09:49 Yes but france were not interested in first 45 Reply |
| 4. Author: Dave_1885 Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 09:52 It sounds like France didn’t show up for the first 45 and got a rocket off of Dechamps! They could easily have scored 7/8 in the 2nd half, but Olise missed 2 gilt edge chances, along with others missing out. It was good to see the respect shown from England players towards Dechamps at full time. He must hold a high regard in the game as plenty of them looked genuinely happy to speak to him. Mbappe looked a bit like a sulking school child at full time mind you. Post Edited (Sun 19 Jul 09:52) Reply |
| 5. Author: Berry Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 09:59 Can’t say I’m a big fan of goals in these kind of matches being counted towards the Golden Boot, both teams are out and it was essentially a glorified friendly but those two goals Mbappe scored may well have won him the award. Reply |
| 6. Author: Indiapar1 Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 10:01 I think what is interesting in sport at this level is how decision making and performance is affected by pressure and opportunity. Pressure is counter intuitive in some aspects to good performance. I think at that level, where the level of skill between teams is pretty much the same, its down to mental strength and fortitude who wins out. There is alot said about finding a way to win, really that is just down to the mental rather than physical approach to the game. G Wardrope Reply |
| 7. Author: wee eck Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 10:13 It was a very strange game. There seemed little attempt by either side to defend as a unit. In most cases if a player beat his marker he was through on goal. I believe Olise qualifies to play for either country. Last night he must have opted to play for England judging by the number of chances he missed. Reply |
| 8. Author: shellypar Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 11:02 Berry, Sun 19 Jul 09:59 Agreed, they have been knocked out, so they shouldnt be counted imo COYP Reply |
| 9. Author: WYPar Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 11:05 Berry, Sun 19 Jul 09:59 I was thinking exactly the same last night. Two goals in a game where neither team could be bothered to defend at all potentially being the difference in the Golden Boot feels a bit cheap. I suppose from FIFA’s perspective, though, to discount those goals would be to devalue the “bronze final”. Even though everyone knows it’s a dead rubber, they wouldn’t want to admit that. Reply |
| 10. Author: Jock Par36 Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 11:05 It was no better than a kick about training session. Nobody wanted to play on this stupid game. Reply |
| 11. Author: The One Who Knocks Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 12:25 If we don`t count goals in the third place play off then Thomas Muller and Davor Suker wouldn`t have won their golden boots and the late great Toto Schillaci would of had to have shared his. And although my eyes were open They just might as well be closed Reply |
| 12. Author: wee eck Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 13:13 At the moment a player could score a hat-trick in a meaningless group game where his team has already qualified for the knockout stages and these goals would count towards the Golden Boot so why shouldn`t goals scored in the third-place play-off match also count? Reply |
| 13. Author: Berry Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 13:35 wee eck, Sun 19 Jul 13:13 Think it comes down to whether you consider the third play off fixture as part of the competition, strictly speaking it is but for me I’m just not a fan and devalues the award. Game last night was a belter to watch but that game is nothing like it turned out if both were in the competition still. In a way Messi is ‘penalised’ for being successful with Argentina in that he has to now bag a couple against Spain in a World Cup final having been surpassed by Mbappe who scored a couple in an end to end kickabout. The group stage point, every team are still in the competition throughout it, even if they don’t have the ability to qualify for the next round it could impact other teams, valid point for comparison but not the same for me. Reply |
| 14. Author: The One Who Knocks Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 14:06 I don`t think it does devalue the golden boot. Like I said Schillaci, Muller and Suker only won the accolade by scoring in the fixture. Does anyone think any less of their achievement because of that? Davor Suker spoke just the other day how much pride he and his teammates got from finishing third back in 1998. It wasn`t just a kick about for them and I`m sure the same could be said for the Croatians that won third again in 2022 and I bet the Moroccans were disappointed in losing it. Turkey beat South Korea in 2002 which capped off a wonderful tournament for them. Post Edited (Sun 19 Jul 14:11) Reply |
| 15. Author: wee eck Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 14:07 If the winners get a bronze medal then it`s part of the competition. You can`t start discounting goals because of their significance or their quality. What about penalties? Are they worth less because they don`t come from open play? Reply |
| 16. Author: DBP Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 14:25 Yes Reply |
| 17. Author: Parsfangaz Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 15:03 Post Edited (Sun 19 Jul 15:04) Reply |
| 18. Author: Foresters Par Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 16:56 I think if Scotland had got to this stage we would be rightly applauding their performance in the 3rd place play off. Sure the pressure was off but it`s still a match between two excellent international sides. Credit where credits due. Reply |
| 19. Author: kozmasrightfoot Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 17:21 The most meaningless match ended up being the most entertaining. Guaranteed the final will a snoozefest. Pars fan. Magpies fan. Mens tennis fan. Alternative rock fan. Not a fan of much else. Reply |
| 20. Author: KirklistonPar Date: Sun 19th Jul 2026. 18:04 I’ve got a few pals who are English and they feel let down by how England played against Argentina. They think that England v France should of been the WC Final. Instead what they got was a bit of an exhibition match for 3rd place. Turned out to be a good game of football but defensively both teams were poor. Reply |