Kylian Mbappe added another extraordinary milestone to his glittering career by becoming the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading scorer and claiming his second Golden Boot, despite France ending their 2026 campaign with a third-place finish.
The Real Madrid forward scored twice in France’s thrilling 6-4 defeat to England in Saturday’s third-place play-off, taking his World Cup tally to a record 22 goals. The brace saw him move past Lionel Messi’s previous record of 21 goals, making Mbappe the highest scorer in the tournament’s history.
The 27-year-old also finished as the top scorer at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with 10 goals, securing the Golden Boot for the second time in his career after first winning the award at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Mbappe’s lead at the top of the scoring charts was confirmed after Argentina captain Lionel Messi failed to score in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain. Messi ended the tournament with eight goals and remained on 21 career World Cup goals as Argentina lost 1-0 after extra time.
The French captain has now scored 22 goals in just 22 World Cup appearances, maintaining a remarkable average of one goal per game across three tournaments.
His World Cup journey began in spectacular fashion in Russia in 2018, where he scored four goals and helped France lift the trophy, becoming the first teenager since Pelé to score in a World Cup final after finding the net in the 4-2 victory over Croatia.
He followed that with an even more prolific campaign in Qatar in 2022, scoring eight goals, including a memorable hat-trick in the final against Argentina. Although France lost on penalties after a 3-3 draw, Mbappe claimed his first Golden Boot and became only the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final.
In North America, he raised the bar again by scoring 10 goals to finish as the tournament’s leading marksman and rewrite another piece of football history.
Despite the individual accolades, Mbappe admitted the records offered little comfort after France missed out on a place in the final.
