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SportsMbappe leads Golden Boot race with 10 goals; Messi needs brace in final to overtake
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Kylian Mbappe has taken the lead in the World Cup Golden Boot race with 10 goals after scoring twice in France's 6-4 third-place play-off defeat to England. He now leads Lionel Messi by two goals, but the 39-year-old Argentine star can still win the award by scoring twice in the final against Spain, as he would then have more assists. Mbappe also leads the all-time World Cup scoring race with 22 goals to Messi's 21. Mbappe's 10 goals are the most in a single men's World Cup since Gerd Muller in 1970. England's Jude Bellingham sits third with seven goals, the most by an Englishman at a single World Cup. The Golden Boot will be decided in the tournament's final match.
Source report
Image caption: Kylian Mbappe has scored 10 goals in the World Cup
By Andy Cryer BBC Sport Senior Journalist
A Golden Boot race for the ages has the perfect finale – it will go down to the final match of the tournament.
Kylian Mbappe's two goals in France's incredible 6-4 defeat by England in the third-place play-off moved him two goals clear of Lionel Messi, but the Argentine still has one match left to respond.
If the 39-year-old can score twice in the final against Spain, he will take the Golden Boot by virtue of having more assists. Anything less, and Mbappe, 27, will become the first player to scoop the prize twice.
That is before we even mention the fight between the two men to be the World Cup's all-time scorer. Mbappe now leads that race on 22 goals, with Messi one behind.
Key Milestones
- Mbappe's double against England took him to 10 goals for the tournament – the most in a single edition of the World Cup this century.
- The last player to reach double figures at a men's World Cup was Gerd Muller for West Germany in 1970.
- Prior to this tournament, only eight players had scored eight or more goals at a single World Cup:
- Muller
- Just Fontaine
- Sandor Kocsis
- Ademir
- Eusebio
- Guillermo Stabile
- Ronaldo
- Mbappe
Other Notable Performances
The 2026 World Cup has certainly been a tournament for the stars.
- England talisman Jude Bellingham moved into third in the Golden Boot standings on seven goals – the most an Englishman has scored at a single World Cup.
- He edged ahead of Erling Haaland by virtue of assists.
- Three Lions captain Harry Kane is one goal adrift, alongside France's Ousmane Dembele.
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Related Topics
- Football
- FIFA World Cup 2026
- France
- Argentina
Source
BBC SportWestern
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