It’s the game that no one ever wants to play in, but there was still a lot on the line for both England and France in the third-place match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday.

Both teams hit the pitch at Miami Stadium (also known as Hard Rock Stadium) after some tough semifinal losses: France to Spain, and England to reigning champs Argentina.

France was looking for redemption after coming up short in a tournament where they were widely viewed to be the favorite. Plus, this match presented an opportunity for French star Kylian Mbappe to overtake Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.

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However, they were up against an England team that had played well throughout the tournament and was 2-1 against them in World Cup matches. Their two most offensively potent players this tournament, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, both started the match on the bench.

Well, in the early going, it turns out that England had enough offensive firepower to get things started.

In just the 3rd minute, Declan Rice hit paydirt to open the scoring.

Only about ten minutes later, England put another one in the back of the net; however, it was deemed to have been offside.

But even with the big guns sitting on the bench, England was easily the more offensively productive team early, with Ezri Konsa adding another off of a corner in the 18th minute.

But why not make it three?

In the 37th minute, Bukayo Saka scored a goal that was certainly not how the Three Lions would’ve drawn it up, but it counts just the same.

And while you’re at it, Mr. Saka, just tack on another for good measure.

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England took a 4-0 lead into halftime after one of the most lopsided first halves of the tournament, and few expected France to be on the receiving end, especially with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham still on the bench.

And, honestly, it could’ve been worse.

Fortunately for France, they did exactly what they needed to and came out firing in the second half. Mbappe got them on the board in the 48th minute, and put himself ahead of Messi in the Golden Boot race, and even with him in career World Cup goals at 21.

Then, just minutes later, France’s Bradley Barcola added another to make it a 4-2 game.

So, while the first half was all England, the second was all about France, and in the 66th minute, Mbappe made it 4-3, while also extending his Golden Boot lead and taking over the top spot on the all-time World Cup goals list.

What. A. Match.

Who cares about third place, right?

But after getting several opportunities to tie it up, England was awarded a penalty kick, and that went to Bukayo Saka, who buried it for the hat trick and to give England a little breathing room late in the match.

It’s hard to believe he didn’t play a single minute in the semifinal loss to Argentina, right?

And that breathing room was important, because France wasn’t going to go quietly.

But England answered back immediately with a beauty from Jude Bellingham, his seventh of the tournament, and that was all she wrote.

Unbelievable.

The final score was, incredibly, 6-4. That was the most goals scored in a World Cup third-place match ever, topping the one in 1958 between France and West Germany.

With that win, England may have come up short when it comes to bringing a World Cup title back home, but that was their best finish in a World Cup since they won it in 1966.

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It was an incredible match, and now there’s only one left and its for the World Cup title.

Spain and Argentina will meet on Sunday afternoon at New York-New Jersey Stadium, with the match scheduled to start at 3 pm ET.

DEL MAR — Umberto Rispoli waited nearly 11 months to ride Journalism again and then, well, let track announcer Larry Collmus describe it:

“They’re off in the San Diego Handicap and Journalism brushed the gate just as it opened, and he’s left behind the field. Journalism has been left behind about five lengths. … A disastrous start for the big favorite Journalism.”

“I won’t tell you the swear [word] that I throw out there,” Rispoli said.

“It just kind of took the starch out of everything,” said Aron Wellman, managing partner of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, co-owner of the 4-year-old colt.

Fortunately for Rispoli, Wellman and anyone else associated with Journalism, including the fans who bet him down to 1-5 odds Saturday at Del Mar Racetrack, this story ended much happier than it began.

Rispoli patiently guided Journalism back into close contact with the other four horses in the 1 1/16-mile race, swung him outside entering the stretch and the son of Curlin cruised to a victory — his first since the same Saturday a year ago in the Haskell at Monmouth Park.

In the ensuing 12 months, Journalism started four times and finished between second and fourth each time. He didn’t run poorly in any of the races; in fact, of the seven horses who beat him, five were Breeders’ Cup winners and a sixth won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont.

But when your resume includes not only the Haskell but also the Santa Anita Derby and Preakness, sometimes close isn’t good enough.

“Frustrating for sure,” Wellman said earlier in the week.

The San Diego Handicap presented the weakest field Journalism had faced since at least the 2025 Preakness, and his task seemed to get easier when Full Serrano, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner here in 2024, was withdrawn Saturday morning because of recurring foot problems.

But as Rispoli noted, “You can’t go in a race and think of course he’s [1-5]. You have to respect everybody in the field. Because you see, everything can happen in horse racing.”

Jockey Umberto Rispoli looks down at Journalism after riding the colt to victory in the San Diego Handicap on Saturday.

(Benoit Photo via Associated Press)

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Including your horse starting to move forward just before the gate opens, then hitting the side of the stall and spotting the field several lengths.

“I was concerned [with] the bad start, obviously,” Rispoli said. “But it wasn’t the first time I was in that situation. I know what I have underneath myself. I know what he’s capable of.”

The official margin was three-quarters of a length over the California-bred Shea Brennan, who was the longest shot in the short field at 23-1. Iron Man Cal, like the runner-up trained by Phil D’Amato, was third, with The Goat fourth and pacesetting Mirahmadi fading to last.

The final time was 1 minute, 42.65 seconds and Journalism, who paid $2.40 for his seventh win in 14 starts, earned $180,000 to push his career total to $4.77 million.

“Umberto did a good job of getting him to recover and his class won out,” winning trainer Michael McCarthy said.

And, given what Rispoli has been through, maybe Saturday was supposed to be difficult. The Italian jockey only recently resumed riding a few weeks ago after missing five months because of a fall in January at Gulfstream Park. He sustained a fractured right fibula and tibia, a displaced ankle and torn ligaments.

“I was in severe pain,” Rispoli said of his rehab, which included time spent at a specialist in Spain. “The first two weeks [in Spain], I said to myself, this is gonna be hard to do it. You know, I’m almost 38, first time a very hard accident happened to me. It was really bad.

“But this is what gave me the strength, horse racing. And I know I have a job incomplete … so I have to come back for this guy.”

I mentioned how humbling baseball can be in yesterday’s article. I was certainly humbled last night. Humbled might not even be the right word – instead, it probably should be incredibly frustrated. I had under 10.5 in the Royals and Padres game, and through nine innings, there were exactly six runs scored. Unfortunately, three were on each side, so it went to a 10th inning. In the top of the 10th, three runs crossed the plate. That pushed the total to 9, but I was still alive. In the bottom of the inning, the Royals scored four runs. A seven-run 10th inning, and the game goes over. About as brutal as it gets. Luckily, I won on the Reds, but that… was something. Let’s try to dodge that luck as the Rays take on the Red Sox.

Tampa Bay is one of the best teams in baseball, which isn’t all that shocking when you consider their franchise as a whole. They are 56-40 for the season with sole possession of first place in the division. The Rays have been hot all year, but I’d challenge almost any casual fan to name more than three players on the team. Junior Caminero is probably the most well-known, partially because he is an All-Star, and partially because he was almost injured in the All-Star Game.

You might be familiar with some of the starting pitchers for the staff, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t. The Rays are a bit unconventional at times with their rotation and arms. Today, they are sending out Ian Seymour to start the game, or maybe we should consider calling it opening the game? Seymour has 33 appearances and just six starts. It is normal for a guy to get stretched out and move from the bullpen to the rotation, but some are better left in the bullpen, and it seems like that might be the case for him. As a starter, he has allowed teams to hit .242 against him compared to just .197 as a reliever. The encouraging sign for the Rays is that in 18 at-bats against him, the Red Sox have not recorded a hit and struck out seven times.

RED SOX HAD A NIGHTMARE TRAVEL DAY FOR THE AGES, YET STILL FOUND A WAY TO BEAT THE METS IN NEW YORK

The Boston Red Sox looked like they were dead in the water just about a month ago. They were in last place in the division and looked like they were probably going to be sellers at the trade deadline. Perhaps it was just a very bad start. Maybe this team is better than we expected. Or, it is possible this was just a hot stretch, and they will end up falling back down the standings. A lot is still to be determined, but the club is finally clicking, and I know they are looking to ride that success as long as possible.

The Red Sox will send Patrick Sandoval to the hill today. This is just his second start of the season for the Red Sox, and he has no record with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has just 4.1 innings under his belt, so I’d be very surprised if I see him go deep into this game. It is possible, since yesterday was a doubleheader, that they need Sandoval to eat innings even if he pitches poorly. Rays hitters have faced him 28 times, but 17 of those have come from Yandy Diaz, who is just 3-for-17 against him. The other three players that have seen Sandoval before are a combined 2-for-11.

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I think this might be a game where you see some runs from both teams. Neither starter is going to strike fear into their opponent, exactly. However, I will at least give them credit for showing success against their opponent in the limited exposure. I do lean to the over at 9.5 for this game, but I think there is a better play.

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The Red Sox have won 11 straight games, but I don’t see them getting to 12. Boston should be very happy they’ve gotten all the way back to .500, but Tampa Bay is a very good team, and I actually think Seymour is more reliable than Sandoval in just his second start. Combine that with the Red Sox winning both games yesterday, and I think the Rays take this one. Give me Tampa Bay on the moneyline.

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For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024