[Saba Sports News] The third-place match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico drew to a close earlier, with France falling to England 4-6 and missing out on the bronze medal. France manager Didier Deschamps still did not hand 35-year-old veteran N’Golo Kanté any game time in this fixture, meaning he wrapped up his World Cup campaign without a single minute on the pitch. Fans widely expected the 35-year-old French midfield stalwart to start the bronze medal match, given he had not featured once all tournament and was one of only two outfield players in the France squad to receive zero minutes of play. This third-place decider was widely tipped to be Kanté’s World Cup swansong. Supporters hoped the man famed for the iconic line that “70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, and the rest is covered by Kanté” would get a starting berth to cap off his World Cup journey. Sadly, it proved a poignant letdown: Kanté never stepped foot on the grass for even a minute. Across France’s full eight matches at the tournament, the 35-year-old remained rooted to the substitutes’ bench with zero minutes played. After the final whistle, Didier Deschamps patted Kanté on the head to comfort him, while Kanté responded with a magnanimous smile, showing no trace of anger or resentment whatsoever.
As the midfield linchpin of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning side, Kanté put in tremendous effort to make his return to the World Cup stage. He kept competing to maintain match sharpness and finally earned a call-up to the national team. Yet throughout the entire tournament, he was confined to the substitutes’ bench without a single minute of playing time. Many fans will surely feel disappointed that we never got to witness Kanté darting around the pitch and breaking up opposition play one last time at the World Cup.