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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
The Spain-Argentina final delivered its verdict in the Golden Boot race. Remaining silent during the Albiceleste's defeat to La Roja (0-1), Lionel Messi could not catch up with Kylian Mbappé in the scoring charts. The captain of Les Bleus, who scored ten goals during the North American tournament, retains the top scorer trophy won in Qatar four years ago. At 27, the French striker adds a line that world football had never seen: two consecutive Golden Boots, and the throne of top scorer in World Cup history.
A double that history will remember
In North America, the Frenchman did even better with ten goals in seven matches, two ahead of the Argentine.
Mbappé had already made his mark in 2022. In Qatar, his eight goals — including a hat-trick in the final lost on penalties to Argentina — earned him a first Golden Boot, one ahead of Messi's seven goals, despite the latter being crowned world champion that year. In North America, the Frenchman did even better with ten goals in seven matches, two ahead of the Argentine. He struck against Australia, Denmark, Brazil, and then England in the third-place playoff, scoring at least one goal in five of his seven appearances.
This second consecutive top scorer title is an absolute first. Since the trophy was created in 1982, no player had finished as top scorer in two different editions. Miroslav Klose, Ronaldo, Gerd Müller, or Just Fontaine: all these great names only experienced one summer at the top of the world scoring charts. The Bondynois, meanwhile, has just strung together two World Cups with more than eight goals, another silent record.
The new king of World Cup scorers
The double scored against England on Saturday evening, during the third-place playoff lost 6-4 by Les Bleus, also allowed Mbappé to write another page. These two goals brought his total in World Cup finals to 22, surpassing Messi's 21. At 27, he became the competition's all-time top scorer, ahead of the man with eight Ballons d'Or. It took the Argentine four editions to reach this total; the Frenchman only needed two.
The hierarchy was set on Sunday evening at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. To hope to keep his title, Messi had to score at least twice against Spain. The Argentine never found the breakthrough, stifled by an impeccable Spanish defense. The only goal of the final, a long-range strike in the first half, crowned La Roja sixteen years after their last world title and definitively sealed the scoring charts.
Exceptional offensive output
The French journey stopped in the semifinal against that same Spain, future world champion, by the same narrow score of 1-0. Despite the early elimination relative to French ambitions, Mbappé's personal record commands respect: ten goals and two assists, direct involvement in twelve French goals that only Harry Kane, third in the standings with seven goals, came close to. Erling Haaland, fourth with six goals, and Vinícius Júnior, fifth with five, close out a ranking dominated outright by the French captain.
The contrast is striking with the Qatari edition. In 2022, Mbappé carried Les Bleus to a legendary final, saved by a resounding hat-trick before the cruelty of penalties. This time, the disappointment came earlier, but the individual recognition emerges almost greater: shining when the team stumbles requires a character that few players possess.
In four years, the World Cup will celebrate its centenary. Mbappé will be 31 and can aim for a third Golden Boot, a prospect that seems currently out of reach for any other active player. He has already done better than Messi, better than Ronaldo, better than anyone in a century of competition. The 2026 trophy belongs to him, and a piece of eternity accompanies it.