Kylian Mbappé was unable to lead France into the 2026 World Cup final, but he still left the tournament with another place in football history. The French star scored twice against England in the third-place playoff, taking his World Cup tally to 22 goals and becoming the competition’s all-time leading scorer.
The record came in a remarkable match in which England led 4-0 at halftime before France launched a second-half comeback and cut the deficit to 4-3. England eventually prevailed 6-4 in a chaotic, attack-heavy game.
Kylian Mbappé
(Photo: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Mbappé entered the match with 20 goals across just three World Cups, one behind Lionel Messi, who had led the all-time standings with 21 goals in six tournaments.
The Real Madrid forward’s brace moved him into first place and made him the World Cup’s new record scorer at just 27.
The goals also left Mbappé alone at the top of the scoring chart for the 2026 tournament. He now has 10 goals, two more than Messi, who has scored eight and could still close the gap in Argentina’s final against Spain.
Before the third-place match, Mbappé and Messi had been tied on eight goals. The Argentine held the advantage because he had recorded four assists, compared with Mbappé’s three.
Mbappé is now also close to achieving something no player has done before: winning the World Cup Golden Boot twice. He already claimed the award at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he scored eight goals, including an unforgettable hat trick in the final against Argentina.
Messi would need to score twice in the final against Spain to draw level with Mbappé’s 10-goal total at this tournament.
Even after France’s semifinal disappointment, Mbappé once again demonstrated how dominant he has been on the World Cup stage. In only three tournaments, he has scored 22 goals, overtaken Messi and set a record he may have the opportunity to extend further at the 2030 World Cup.