(CNN) — There’s a World Cup match on today and absolutely not one person taking part in it wants to be there.
As we head into the final weekend of this magical 2026 World Cup, we have one of the strangest parts of the schedule to deal with first: The Bronze Final. England and France both lost this week, putting a stop to their summer dreams of World Cup glory, and yet they still aren’t quite allowed to go home.
Let’s get into why this match even exists and look ahead to Sunday’s final a bit more.
The Main Thing: England and France compete for ‘chocolate’ medal
After losing their semifinals just a few days ago, England and France were probably desperate to get out of the USA and heal their wounds in the comfort of their own homes.
But due to what I think is a strange quirk in the World Cup schedule, neither has been able to do so because they’ve got one more match to play.
The teams have flown to Miami to play the Bronze Final (previously the third-place playoff) in a game that no one truly cares about.
Yes, the winner gets $2 million more in prize money but trying to pump yourself up for a match after failing to reach the final is practically impossible.
Even FIFA President Gianni Infantino momentarily forgot about the game yesterday when he was addressing the media at Trump Tower next to the US president.
“There is one more game to go,” he said proudly, before realizing his mistake. “Well, two more games. The bronze medal tomorrow.”
In truth, you can’t blame him for not putting little importance on that match because the players themselves don’t want to be there either.
“None of us wanted to play in this game for third place,” France defender Ibrahima Konaté said. “But we don’t have a choice to play.”
It’s a similar story for England, who missed out on its first World Cup final since 1966 in heartbreaking fashion to Argentina.
“Nobody wants to be, tomorrow, in this game,” England’s manager Thomas Tuchel told reporters Friday. “All of these four teams wanted to be in New York (at the final). But it is an official World Cup game.”
Of course, like every match, there is at least something to play for.
For England, it’s a chance to record its best World Cup finish in 60 years, having lost the third-place playoff to Belgium in 2018. Tuchel says it’s impossible to switch off that competitive mentality and promised that his team would give its all.
For France, it’s an opportunity to give outgoing manager Didier Deschamps a winning send-off in what will be his final game in charge of the national team.
Deschamps had previously announced this tournament would be his last after such a successful spell in charge. He turned Les Bleus into a powerhouse yet again and led his country to the World Cup title back in 2018.
And while he wasn’t able to do it again this summer, his players seem motivated to give him a fitting goodbye.
“We want to pay back our coach,” Konaté added. “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.”
Lastly, this game might also mean something more to Kylian Mbappé in the hunt for the Golden Boot. He has currently scored the same amount of goals as Lionel Messi (8), and this will be his last chance to usurp the Argentine in the race for the individual award.
The game will kick off at 5 p.m. ET later today in the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Who knows whether it will be worth a watch…
Quote of the day
These are the words of the inevitable headline-maker, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who addressed reporters at Trump Tower on Friday to reflect on the tournament.
Infantino shared the stage in a love-in with Donald Trump, stating that the World Cup wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for the president.
And while that statement is unfounded (so far, Trump’s biggest involvement threatened to derail the integrity of the whole sport), Infantino isn’t totally wrong in what he said.
This World Cup, like many that have gone before it, has been an incredible success. It’s brought people together in a way that hasn’t been seen for a long time in the US. But that’s all happened in spite of the politicians, certainly not because of them.
Meet the man taking photos like you haven’t seen for decades
You will have seen a lot of photographs from this year’s World Cup, but I bet you’ve never seen anything like this.
Miles Myerscough-Harris is a photographer with a difference, capturing this summer’s tournament on film in several unique ways.
Whether it’s using a folding camera from the 1950s or a point-and-shoot film camera from 1994 (the last time the US hosted the World Cup), Myerscough-Harris has come up with creative ways to tell the story of this year’s competition.
The English photographer has posted many of his efforts on his very popular Instagram page, where he documents an array of sporting events using expired film from past decades.
“I think some of the most iconic photos of all time are film photos of sporting moments, and I suppose that kind of leans into a nostalgic element,” he said, explaining why his craft has often gone viral online. “I’m instantly thinking of Pelé lifting the World Cup trophy when he’s on everybody’s shoulders, or that iconic shot of Muhammad Ali.
“I think also specifically in the modern day, photography and imagery, and I mean, all of life really, is so instant and perfect. I guess people like seeing those imperfections in film and the fact that it’s kind of real.”
Myerscough-Harris has attended several games this summer in collaboration with brands, including a match between Portugal and Colombia from early in the tournament, where he shot the action from the stands using a camera from the 1950s.
It was during that game that he snapped a photo of Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I think it was possibly during one of the hydration breaks where Cristiano walked onto the pitch before the break had finished. He stood there just for a very brief moment by himself near the center circle,” he said.
“Obviously with film, you have no idea what the photo is actually going to look like until you get it back, but I remember just looking through this the very rudimentary viewfinder of this camera and snapping a photo,” he said.
“Using that unconventional camera really helped because I had to deal with the limitations, which meant that I framed it in a certain way, where you’ve got Cristiano in the foreground, very close to the bottom of the frame, and then the rest of the frame is filled up by the stadium, the fans and the flood lights.
“It just kind of works in a funny way, and I wouldn’t have taken that photo if I had my professional gear with me.”
Myerscough-Harris has always had a camera in his hand but started experimenting with film and social media during one of the Covid-19 lockdowns.
He hopes to travel back for the World Cup final on Sunday, but even if that doesn’t work out, he feels “very lucky” to be doing this as his full-time job.
“I sort of spend my life traveling the world with my film cameras, going to sports matches, which is just absolutely insane,” he said. “I’m honestly just living the dream and loving it so much.”
WATCH: How the number 19 keeps linking Messi and Yamal
The connection between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal goes beyond the baby-bathing photoshoot, and it has a lot to do with the number 19.
Ahead of tomorrow’s final, CNN’s Don Riddell breaks it down.
The Final Whistle: Lionel Messi praises Lamine Yamal ahead of final
So much has been made of the meeting of Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi ahead of Sunday’s final.
The world is busy examining the differences and similarities between the two stars, while that 2007 picture continues to be shared in every corner of the internet.
For those who somehow haven’t read about this, Messi was pictured bathing a baby in a tub as part of a charity photoshoot 19 years ago. As it turns out, that baby was Yamal.
On Friday, Messi addressed the picture and lauded the 19-year-old, whom many tout at the successor to the Argentine’s throne.
“That photo is crazy,” Messi said in a news conference when speaking to NFL legend Tom Brady. “I had a photo with him when he was a baby and for us to be facing each other in a World Cup … it’s craziness.”
Yamal has quickly become the main man at Barcelona, the same club that Messi dazzled at for so many years. So while the 39-year-old wishes Yamal all the best in his career, he’s hoping to steal the biggest prize away from him tomorrow.
“He’s one of the best in the world at the moment without a doubt,” Messi added. “I wish him the best of luck because his well-being will be Barcelona’s well-being as well.”
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