Explained: Why France won’t play third-place playoff match like the one at 2022 FIFA World Cup after Euro 2024 semi-final loss to Spain
France will not be involved in a third-place match after being knocked out of Euro 2024 by Spain on Tuesday night (July 9). La Roja managed to come from a goal down to beat Les Bleus 2-1 and sealed their place in the competition's final.
While there was a third-placed match in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, that will not be the case at this year's European Championships. It was Morocco and Croatia who competed for the third spot in Qatar after losing their semi-final ties.
A large part of the reason for the omission of a third-place match is seemingly due to the lack of interest in such a game. There hasn't been a game of such nature since Euro 1980, which took place in Italy (via SPORTbible).
According to the aforementioned report, the TV audiences, as well as the in-game attendance, were low back in 1980. Following this underwhelming response, there hasn't been a third-placed match in 10 subsequent editions of the European Championships.
As a result, only two games remain in this year's edition of this continental competition. The first is a semi-final tie between England and the Netherlands on Wednesday (July 10).
This will be followed up by the final of the tournament, between Spain and the winners of the aforementioned game on Sunday (July 14).
France manager Didier Deschamps responds to claims that his team were boring after Euro 2024 exit
It is fair to state that France put together another underwhelming display in Euro 2024 while losing their semi-final tie against Spain. It was only in Tuesday's game that they scored their first goal from open play in the tournament.
This time out, Les Bleus have netted just four goals in their six games, while remaining solid in defense. When questioned about his team's approach, manager Didier Deschamps said (via SPORTbible):
"If you're getting bored, you know what? Watch another game, that's fine. You don't have to watch, it's fine. It's a European Championship, it's difficult for everyone."
"Up until now, it has not been the same as in the past, but we do have the capabilities to show emotions, to make lots of French men and women happy through the results that we've been pulling out of the bag, especially in a period that has been quite difficult for our country," he added.
It's disappointment yet again for France at the international level after they lost the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina on penalties (4-2), following a 3-3 draw in extra time.