France Will Not Play Third-Place Match In Euro 2024

France’s national team will not have the opportunity to play the third-place match against either England or the Netherlands unlike in other international football tournaments.

Recall that France who were seen as the favourites to win the 2024 European Championship in Germany after finishing second in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, were knocked out of the competition in the semi-final stage.

In the said stage, they faced Spain who have not dropped a point since the tournament started in June. As expected, the youthful Spanish side defeated the French side 2-1.

In most major football tournaments like the FIFA World Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations, and Copa America, France would be expected to wait behind for the third-place match, but the European Championship doesn’t have room for that.

By UEFA laws, Euro 2024 will not feature the third-place match, just like in the previous editions of the tournament.

The last time the European Championship featured a third-place match was in 1980. Czechoslovakia and Italy are the last two countries to play in the defunct phase of the tournament. Czechoslovakia won the game 9-8 via penalties after the regulation time ended in a 1-1 draw.

Since then, the European Championship only feature the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. This means that France and the loser of the game between England and the Netherlands at 8 p.m. tonight, July 10, are expected to go home before the final at 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 14.