France vs England FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Live Updates: Kylian Mbappe scored twice as France left England gasping in the second half. (AP)Declan Rice has been at the centre of things as England have come out all guns blazing against France and took an early 2-0 lead in the FIFA World Cup third-place playoff in Los Angeles. Rice scored in the third minute and then provided an aerial ball with pin-point precision for Ezri Konsa to head into goal in the 18th minute. France have hardly made any changes to their lineup, with Kylian Mbappe clearly trying to get some goals to boost his chances at securing the golden boot. England, on the other hand, have made as many as seven changes, which includes leaving star names Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on the bench.
Neither France and England wanted to be here when the World Cup started. But the two star-studded teams, favourites for the title, now find themselves playing in a 3rd placed match in Miami, occasionally stealing a glance towards the summit clash between Argentina and Spain in the Metlife stadium on Sunday.
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France vs England Football Updates
France captain Kylian Mbappé is among several elite footballers with immigrant roots representing their adopted nations. (Photo Credit: Reuters)
What it takes to form a football team: An immigrant story
THE MAKESHIFT tent on the edge of the playing field at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, a sprawling public park in New York’s Queens borough, is blaring the Latino chartbuster DTMF by the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny.
A few teenage players tap their feet to its tunes, their gaze fixed on a game of football in the middle. A volley from 20 yards clangs onto the crossbar, and coach Vincent Cordoba, a stern-looking elderly Colombian man with small, sharp eyes, throws a water bottle to the ground in anger. He shouts expletives in Spanish and instructs his players to tighten up their defence and fall back in numbers.
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