Thomas Tuchel claimed “nobody wants to play” the World Cup third‑place play‑off. But France defender Ibrahima Konate has insisted it is a matter of national pride – and that Les Bleus want to win it for departing coach Didier Deschamps.
England face France in Miami on Saturday after a devastating late collapse against Argentina in the semi‑final, a defeat that extended the Three Lions’ wait for a men’s World Cup final appearance to 60 years. Tuchel, whose side had reached their second World Cup semi‑final in three tournaments, said after the loss that “it’s maybe not in our DNA … to control the game and ball”.
“England face France in World Cup bronze final after Tuchel said 'nobody wants to play' but Konate insists on national pride.”
Konate, the former Liverpool defender who has just joined Real Madrid, was blunt in response. “I’ve read in the press that Thomas Tuchel said that no‑one wants to play this game,” he said. “Well, it’s true that, given the aim and objective we had, we wanted to play the final. But we are still representing France and it is the dream of many people to wear the shirt, the jersey, and sing the national anthem. Therefore we need to respect the jersey we are wearing.”
England’s campaign was led by the world‑class quality of captain Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who between them scored 12 of the team’s 14 goals – six each – with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon the other contributors. But Tuchel was hampered by illnesses and injuries to Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, reducing their effectiveness. John Stones remains a class act at 32, but elsewhere England are “solid and reliable rather than spectacular”, lacking the depth of Spain, France or Argentina.
Konate acknowledged France’s own disappointment after losing to Spain, the European champions, but said: “As a player, we want to win for ourselves before wanting to win for anyone else but it is true we want to pay back the French coach. He did so much for the French team.”
The third‑place play‑off was once a consolation. Now it has become a test of whether Tuchel’s England can salvage any pride from a tournament that ended in familiar heartbreak.
