Mbappé Leads Golden Boot by Two Over Messi
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- Mbappé scored two goals in France's 6-4 third-place playoff defeat by England, moving him two goals clear of Messi and to 10 for the tournament — the first player to hit double figures at a men's World Cup since Gerd Müller for West Germany in 1970.
- Messi can still overtake Mbappé for the Golden Boot if he scores twice in the final against Spain, taking the prize by virtue of having more assists; anything less and 27-year-old Mbappé becomes the first player to win the award twice.
- Mbappé now leads the all-time World Cup scoring chart on 22 goals, with Messi one behind on 21 heading into the final.
- Jude Bellingham moved into third in the Golden Boot standings on 7 goals with his strike against France — the most an Englishman has ever scored at a single World Cup — edging Erling Haaland by virtue of assists.
- Harry Kane and France's Ousmane Dembélé sit one goal behind Bellingham on 6, while the article notes the 2026 tournament has been one 'for the stars' with historic individual scoring feats.
- France's 6-4 defeat by England came in the third-place playoff, ending their tournament after a run that had included three straight previous World Cup finals.
- Only eight players had previously scored eight or more goals at a single World Cup — Müller, Just Fontaine, Sándor Kocsis, Ademir, Eusébio, Guillermo Stabile, Ronaldo and Mbappé — with Mbappé and Messi now pushing toward the all-time lead.
Why it matters: Mbappé's 10-goal haul makes him the first man to reach double figures at a World Cup in 56 years, but the Golden Boot and the all-time scoring record both come down to Sunday's final against Spain — a two-goal Messi haul would swing both prizes via the assists tiebreaker.
