It\u2019s time for every England fan to sadly move\u00a0from one Oasis all-timer to another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But before we skip from “Wonderwall to “Don’t Look Back in Anger” \u2013 which, interestingly enough, follow each other on the (“What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” album \u2013 let me begin with a complaint. And I am almost certain of the fact that I am in the majority.<\/p>\n
For the record, and I want it to be categorically known, I am a fervent opponent to the World Cup\u2019s third-place match. It is the definition of kicking someone when they\u2019re down or the image of continuous rain on an already wet Saturday. This match, Saturday\u2019s fixture between France and England, is the football equivalent of an incredibly annoying classmate who would ask for more homework back when you were in school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is the match version of Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons. And the fact that both of these sides have to play it in the humidity of Miami makes it even more challenging.<\/p>\n
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham came up short at the World Cup. (Photo by Julian Finney – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n “Nobody of these [England] players, nobody of the French players wants to play this match,” said England manager Thomas Tuchel at Friday\u2019s press conference. “They want to play in the final, they gave everything to be in the final. Everyone plays to win the World Cup. But it is what it is, so we have a day less to recover. But we will do it professionally of course.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “It is less important than the final,” echoed France manager Didier Deschamps. “England does not want \u200bto play this game, and neither do we. But here we are.”<\/p>\n I prefer France defender Ibrahima Konate\u2019s description of it, calling it a “chocolate medal,” which is a perfect way to describe it. It\u2019s covered in bronze, much like a chocolate coin that breaks apart the moment you eat it. Or rather, since the match is being played in South Florida, the chocolate medal will obviously melt, and so will our interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n I am being slightly harsh here because there are certain elements to this third-place playoff that comes with a few narratives. I guess I can\u2019t argue against the fact that this is Deschamps\u2019s final match with Les Bleus. It will be a very emotional afternoon for the French side as its 57-year-old coach will close the curtain on one of the most illustrious managerial tenures in the history of football. This man led France to a World Cup title in 2018 (two if you include his playing career in 1998), a runner-up medal in 2022, a Euros final runner-up medal in 2016, and a Nations League victory in 2021. To be impressed by his tenure is an understatement.<\/p>\n Next to lead France will be its ultimate legend and Deschamps\u2019 former midfield partner and World Cup winner in Zinedine Zidane. But that\u2019s for another day as Saturday will belong to Didi.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, who is still searching for the Golden Boot award, currently even with Lionel Messi on eight goals. Mbapp\u00e9 had another magnificent tournament where, sadly, the mighty defensive unit of Spain became his ultimate obstacle. I am sure returning to Madrid next month will be fun for him \u2014 I say sarcastically. But then again, he has Jose Mourinho to look forward to.<\/p>\n A bitter disappointment for Didier Deschamps and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 (Photo by Hector Vivas – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n I guess the symbolic angle is still there. England, after all, has never finished higher than fourth aside from winning it all back in 1966.<\/p>\n So there is a slight attempt and hope of recovering some kind of catharsis.\u00a0<\/p>\n From an individual perspective, it could also offer an opportunity to players such as Kobbie Mainoo, the wonderful midfielder from Manchester United who has not seen a single minute of this World Cup. Marcus Rashford, who continues to deal with a precarious situation from a contractual standpoint with the same club, could also start.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Then there are key stars: Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, England\u2019s most important and dangerous players during this competition, have six goals each. They may also see this fixture as an objective to catch up in the Golden Boot race. For Kane, we will also be asking if this will indeed be his last World Cup? The answer quite honestly, for me, is no. The Bayern Munich striker turns 33 in a few weeks and likely sees Messi\u2019s inspiring journey of continually delivering magic for his nation \u2013 so instinctively, I don\u2019t see a reason for Kane to quit now. He will go down as England\u2019s greatest striker but the chance of immortality in 2030 still appeals to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n Will Lionel Messi’s inspirational World Cup career inspire Harry Kane? (Photo by Richard Pelham\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY It\u2019s time for every England fan to sadly move\u00a0from one Oasis all-timer to another.\u00a0 But before we skip from “Wonderwall to “Don’t Look Back in Anger” \u2013 which, interestingly enough, follow each other on the (“What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” album \u2013 let me begin with a complaint. And I am […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}