Club Sportico: What’s the Point of World Cup 3rd Place Match?

England was knocked out of the World Cup in painful fashion on Wednesday, surrendering two goals in the final 15 minutes of its semifinal clash with Argentina. Making matters more painful? The Three Lions weren’t actually “knocked out.”

A day before, France surprisingly exited stage left in a 2-0 defeat to Spain. But Les Bleus can’t go home either.

Instead, France and England will square off on Saturday in Miami—a clash of zombies in the World Cup’s third-place game, or what FIFA is trying to brand as “the bronze final.”

In Friday’s Club Sporticoessay, we look at the history and economics of the World Cup loser’s bracket. Other leagues used to have similar contests at the end of their postseasons, but scrapped them in favor of expanded playoffs. Could the World Cup’s third-place match be the next to go?

Here is an excerpt of that essay ✍️:

The match is not a pure exhibition. In FIFA’s team ranking formula, the third-place game has the same weight as the final played the following day. Goals scored count in the Golden Boot race, and the winning team comes away from the World Cup $2 million richer.

Smaller countries have cherished podium finishes. The Croatian squad celebrated extensively after its 2-1 win over Morocco four years ago.

But this game is not a must-win—especially for former champions like England and France. The annual soccer schedule is already jam-packed, each additional 90 minutes carries more injury risk, and most of these players star on club teams whose seasons kick off in a month.

For soccer newbies, you can think of it like a non-CFP New Year’s bowl game. Like those battles, some top players are expected to sit or get subbed out over the course of the match. In the hours after Argentina’s comeback, when it became clear that Saturday’s tilt wouldn’t be Lionel Messi’s World Cup swan song in his adopted hometown, ticket prices cratered. The get-in price has dropped by more than 50% over the last three days, to $625 as of Friday morning, cheaper than any of the six group stage matches England and France contested. And dropping.

You can read the entire essay for free here. Subscribe to Club Sportico, where we discuss the intersection of sports and money—with some extra humor and opinion—for more casual sports business talk.