American soccer fans have been left stunned to learn that there is another World Cup game to be played before Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina.
The third-place playoff will be held on Saturday in Miami between France and England, the two losers from the respective semifinals against Spain and Argentina.
The winner of that game will receive a bronze medal and an extra $2 million in prize money.
It was Dave Portnoy, the Barstool Sports founder, who led the surprise on Thursday when he posted on X: ‘Wait, there is a 3rd place World Cup game? What kind of loser bulls*** is that? That’s gotta be the most demoralizing game of all time.’
‘It’s basically the “at least you tried” championship,’ one fan wrote, with another saying: ‘Americans would never accept this trash. Gold or nothing.’
A different World Cup fan commented: ‘For real, it’s literally the “Who Cares” bowl.
England will play France in a third-place play-off after losing the semi-final to Argentina
They will take on Kylian Mbappe and France, who lost their semi-final 2-0 against Spain
‘Both teams are completely gutted from losing the semis and just want to go on vacation. It’s basically a glorified friendly with medals.’
Another post said: ‘Cmon Dave, you should know this best. FIFA is milking all the money they can get from the tournament. One extra game, more advertising money, more ticket sales. MONEY MONEY MONEY.’
England lost to Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta, holding a 1-0 lead until the final few minutes of the game.
Enzo Fernandez equalized before a stoppage-time winner from Lautaro Martinez, both goals assisted by Lionel Messi, sent the defending champions back into another final.
‘I’m gutted,’ England captain Harry Kane said after the defeat. ‘I’m gutted for the boys, I’m gutted for everyone, the team, the staff, the fans. We played a good game for the large majority of it.
‘Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is just not enough, so I’m gutted
France, meanwhile, were swept aside by Spain in Dallas, the European champions producing a dominant display in a 2-0 win over the team many backed to win the tournament. Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro scored for Spain.
Star striker Kylian Mbappe complained about head coach Didier Deschamps’ tactics after the loss, telling reporters: ‘We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that’s hard.
Lamine Yamal and Spain lie in wait for Argentina in Sunday’s final after defeating France
‘We didn’t play the game we wanted, technically, tactically. When you don’t do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don’t win.
‘Spain respected their game plan and what the team usually does. They like to control the ball and the tempo. Our plan was to press them high so they could not install their rhythm.’
Saturday’s game kicks off at 5pm local time, with the World Cup final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium starting at 3pm.
Fourth place takes home $27 million, third place $29 million, the runners-up $33 million and the champions $50 million.
