MIAMI — Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé lead England and France into Saturday's World Cup third-place playoff at Miami Stadium, a match that carries far more weight than the typical consolation fixture, with the tournament's Golden Boot race hanging in the balance alongside the bronze medal itself.

The match, scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern time, brings together two teams still reeling from painful semifinal exits earlier in the week. France was outclassed 2-0 by Spain on Tuesday, with the country's typically potent attacking players unable to find a way past a disciplined Spanish defense. England suffered an even more agonizing defeat the following night, conceding twice in the closing minutes of a 2-1 loss to Argentina after taking an early second-half lead, with Lionel Messi setting up both of Argentina's late goals.

Neither team arrived in North America hoping to play for third place. England manager Thomas Tuchel acknowledged as much in comments ahead of the match, saying plainly that none of the players on either side actually wanted to be playing in this fixture. "None of these players, none of the French players want to play this match. They want to play in the final. We gave everything to be in the final," Tuchel said.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm surrounding the fixture itself, the individual stakes for Saturday's match are considerable. Mbappé enters the day with eight goals in the tournament, one behind Messi's tournament-leading total of eight goals combined........

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