00:00We go now with our special segment on the occasion of the World Cup. Beyond the
00:04game, the ball stays pure. Go ahead Luis, pleasure to share that with you.
00:09Good morning Sophie, good morning to our audience. We'll begin with our first
00:13segment of the day. Remember today we have the third place playoff between
00:17France and England at 5 p.m. Caracas time so we're gonna be talking what is
00:21building up ahead of this third place playoff and tomorrow Sunday the big
00:25final between Argentina and Spain. More after the break.
00:51Welcome to Beyond the game. The ball stays pure. France and England meet this Saturday at the Miami Stadium to
00:57battle for third place at the 2026 FIFA.
00:59World Cup with both sides looking to bounce back after heartbreaking semi-final defeats.
01:04It is the champs France in what will be his final match in charge of the Blues after
01:0814 years at the helm. So far convincing to Neil lost to a dominant Spanish side.
01:12Meanwhile Thomas Tuchel England came within moments of reaching the final but
01:18fell to one to Argentina after conceding in stoppage time. Despite the
01:21disappointment of missing out on the championship match fans can expect an
01:25open attacking contest with chances at both ends. France enters as a slight
01:29favorite and the match could provide a fitting farewell for the champs with star
01:33forward Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane expected to lead their respective attacks.
01:43And the officials are set for the final weekend of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with FIFA announcing the
01:48referee crews for both the third place match and Sunday championship final.
01:54Venezuelan referee Jesus Valenzuela will officiate the 2026 FIFA World Cup third place match between
02:00France and England. The game will be played this Saturday July 18 at Miami Stadium where both
02:06European sides will look to end their World Cup campaigns with a victory. Valenzuela will be joined by
02:12fellow Venezuelans Jorge Urrego and Tulio Moreno as first and second assistant referees respectively.
02:17Moroccan official Jalal Hayed has been appointed for official while his compatriot Zakaria Brinzi will
02:24serve as reserve assistant referee. Meanwhile Slovenian referees Lavku Vincic was appointed to
02:30officiate the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. FIFA announced that Vincic will take charge of the tournament's
02:36biggest match when Spain and Argentina meet for the title on Sunday July 19. He will become the first
02:42Slovenian referee to officiate a World Cup final and will oversee his fourth match of the tournament.
02:47Vincic will be assisted by fellow Slovenian Tomas Klaknik and Andras Kovacic as first and second
02:53assistant referees. Jordan's Adam Makadme was named fourth official while compatriot Mohamed Al-Kalaf will
03:00serve as the reserve assistant referee.
03:04And as we get close to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, let's take a look at the national teams
03:09that have
03:10reached the most finals in the tournament's history. Germany leads the all-time list with eight World
03:16Cup final appearances reaching the decisive match in 1954, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1990, 2002 and 2014 winning the
03:25world title four times. Just behind them is Brazil which has played in seven finals 1950, 1958, 1962, 1994,
03:321998 and 2002 lifting the trophy on five occasions. One of the finalists in the 2026 edition,
03:39Argentina will also reach its seventh World Cup final this Sunday having previously appeared in
03:431930, 1978, 1986, 1990, 2014 and 2022 as La Albizia Leste looks to defend its world title. Next on the
03:51list
03:51is Italy with six final appearances and four championships followed by France with four finals and
03:56two titles. The Netherlands has reached three finals but has yet to win the decisive match while Uruguay
04:00has a perfect record winning both of its World Cup final appearances. Spain, the other finalist in
04:05the 2026 tournament, will play in its second ever World Cup final after triumphing in South Africa 2010.
04:12Czechoslovakia and Hungary each reached two finals without lifting the trophy while England has won its
04:16only World Cup final appearance in 1966. Sweden and Croatia have also reached one final each but fell short of
04:22claiming the title. And with the World Cup title on the line, Spain's Miquel Merino amused that overcoming
04:28Lionel Messi in Argentina will be the toughest challenge of Las Rojas tournaments.
04:34Is one of the greatest of all time. You only have to look at the career he's had and how
04:39well he's still
04:39performing at 39. I don't know if this will be his last match for the national team or his last
04:45final.
04:46With players like that, as I said about Cristiano, it's very difficult to predict their future because
04:52they continue to perform at such a high level. But anyway, it's a massive challenge and an incredible
04:58source of motivation for me and for us. Being able to play against a team like Argentina, who have won
05:05this before, makes the match even more important. And that's it. I'm just really happy to be able to
05:10experience these moments. I think it's going to be an intense match, just as it should be. It's a final.
05:16Both teams are playing for the biggest prize in football, winning the World Cup. And it's only natural
05:22that there'll be physical contact and intense battles. Because when everything's at stake,
05:27that's the way it has to be.
05:31With only two matches left in this 2016 FIFA World Cup, the race for the Golden Boot is hot. Only
05:37one
05:37change occurred with the semifinals game. Messi retakes the top spot after his two assists against
05:42England. Both Messi and Mbappé remain tied with eight goals, with both players playing one final
05:48match that would decide the Golden Boot. Mbappé on Saturday against England, Messi against Spain on
05:52Sunday. Besides the Golden Boot, another record is on the line for both stars. Every goal could prove
05:58decisive in the battle to become the greatest goal-scoring FIFA World Cup history. Messi currently
06:04leads with 21, while Mbappé is very close with 20. Meanwhile, Norway's Erling Haaland closed his first
06:10World Cup with seven goals, an outstanding performance for the Vikings. Jules Bellingham
06:14and Harry Kane close the table with six goals each.
06:27Well, this is all for this edition of Beyond the Game. The Bolsa is going to continue to have more
06:30information in upcoming segments as we get close to the third-place playoff between England and France
06:35at 5pm Caracas time later in the afternoon. For now, we go back to you, Sophie. Thank you,
06:41Lacey, for keeping us posted on all the updates related to the world of football. And with this
06:45special segment, we have come to the end of this news brief. Remember, you can find this and many
06:49other stories on our website at telestoreenglish.net and join us on social media. We're on Facebook,
06:54X, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok. For Telestore English, I'm Sophie Fernández. Thank you for watching.
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