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France and England will meet on Saturday in the World Cup third-place match, a game often dismissed as the 'little final', but it still carries sporting, financial and historical significance.

Thomas Tuchel, England's manager, admitted that neither team wanted to play the third-place match after missing out on the final, saying: 'None of our players or France's players want to play this match. They want to be in the final.'

Despite criticism, FIFA has kept the third-place match in every World Cup edition since 1934, except in 1950 when the tournament used a final group stage system.

One of its main purposes is commercial; the extra match generates additional ticket revenue, attracts huge television audiences, and creates more advertising income for broadcasters, while filling the gap between the semi-finals and the final.

There is also a financial incentive for teams; the third-place finisher receives $29 million in prize money, compared to $27 million for fourth place, while the runner-up gets $33 million and the champion takes $50 million. The match also awards bronze medals, giving winning players a place on the World Cup podium, similar to the Olympics.

From a sporting perspective, the result contributes to FIFA rankings, which can affect tournament seedings and future qualifying draws.

For coaches, the match also provides an opportunity to reward squad players who have not featured much during the tournament.

The third-place match has also contributed to many unforgettable individual achievements; Just Fontaine scored 4 goals against West Germany in 1958 to finish the tournament with a record 13 goals in a single World Cup, while Hakan Şükür scored the fastest goal in World Cup history just 11 seconds into the match against South Korea in 2002.

This year's match could also affect the Golden Boot race; Kylian Mbappé enters the match with 8 goals, tied with Lionel Messi but trailing in assists, while Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are also contenders with 6 goals each.

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