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While both England's and France’s World Cup journeys were cut short in the semifinals, the pair of national teams will face off in one more match for third place. England fell to defending champion Argentina, 2-1, on Wednesday, and France lost, 2-0, to Spain on Tuesday.
France entered the World Cup as heavy favorites and seeking another shot at a title after losing to Argentina on penalties in 2022. England’s World Cup run inspired many as it reached the semifinals for the first time since 2018, hoping to bring home its first World Cup trophy since 1966.
France's path to the semifinals convinced many fans they had a clear shot at a World Cup final, especially with nine points from the group stage, 16 goals scored with just four goals conceded.
After a 3-0 win over Sweden in the round of 32, 1-0 over Paraguay in the round of 16 and a convincing 2-0 win over Morocco in the quarterfinals, France had to face Spain for a spot in the final. While France had yet to trail in any 2026 World Cup game, Spain's penalty in the 22nd minute set the tone for its win over Les Bleus.
England’s World Cup run started off with a dominant 4-2 win over Croatia in the group stage, but a 1-1 draw with Ghana kept things interesting for the Three Lions. After a clinching win over Panama, England advanced to the round of 32 over DR Congo. Despite trailing 1-0 until the 75th minute, captain Harry Kane scored a late brace that sent England to the round of 16.
Against Mexico, star Jude Bellingham also scored a brace, despite being down a player for 40 minutes and advanced to the quarterfinals to face Norway. Facing star Erling Haaland, England found their rhythm when Bellingham scored another brace to clinch a spot in the semifinals against Argentina. However, Lionel and Messi ended England's dreams of a World Cup title in their 2-1 win.
Who Are The Referees For England vs. France?
(Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Serving as the third place matches head referee is Venezuelan-born Jesús Valenzuela. At 42 years old, Valenzuela has refereed various tournaments between World Cups and Copa América tournaments.
Valenzuela is officiating his second World Cup, where he officiated two games in Qatar and is preparing for his fourth at the 2026 World Cup. Valenzuela previously officiated Australia's 2-0 win over Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 3-1 win over Qatar and Norway’s 2-1 comeback win over Ivory Coast in the round of 32. While he’s shown four yellow cards across the previous three matches, he has yet to show a red card in any World Cup match.
Both Kane and France star Kylian Mbappé have had previous encounters with Valenzuela. In 2022, Valenzuela was the center referee for England's 0-0 draw with the United States in the group stage, as well as the head official for France's 3-1 round of 16 win over Poland.
Alongside Valenzuela will be assistant referees Jorge Urrego and Tulio Moreno, who are also Venezuelan-born.
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno
4th Official: Jalal Jayed
Reserve Assistant Referee: Zakaria Brinsi
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