France’s Kylian Mbappe Wins Second World Cup Golden Boot in History After 10-Goal Heroics
Mbappe entered the semi-finals tied with Lionel Messi on 8 goals each. Despite not advancing to the final, he separated himself from Messi in the bronze medal match.
By Robert Mutasi
France captain Kylian Mbappe has etched his name into FIFA World Cup history by becoming the first player ever to win the Golden Boot twice, after finishing as the top scorer at the 2026 tournament in North America.
Mbappe retained the award he first claimed at Qatar 2022, ending the tournament with 10 goals and 4 assists after scoring twice in France’s thrilling 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday.
The Real Madrid forward is the first player to win the award at two World Cups, defending the crown he took in Qatar four years ago. His double in the third-place play-off proved pivotal in the race for the Golden Boot.
Mbappe entered the semi-finals tied with Lionel Messi on 8 goals each. Despite not advancing to the final, he separated himself from Messi in the bronze medal match. France’s superstar striker won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top goalscorer, making him the first player in World Cup history to win the award more than once.
The final Golden Boot standings show a thrilling race that went all the way to the last day:
1 Kylian Mbappe (France) – 10 goals (4 assists)
2 Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 goals (4 assists)
Messi, who was the first to break German Miroslav Klose’s career World Cup goals record early in the tournament before Mbappe caught up, stayed at 21 career goals and may have played his final World Cup match on Sunday at 39 years old. Eight of Mbappe’s 10 goals this summer came in braces.
It was a bittersweet end for Mbappe. He won’t be going home with the trophy after France lost 6-4 to England in a crazy 10-goal thriller where Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick for England and Jude Bellingham scored in added time to take his tally to seven. But he will not be going home empty-handed either.
The Golden Boot is awarded to the player with the most goals scored at the World Cup, with assists used as a tie-breaker. Mbappe finished with 10 goals in 8 appearances, delivering healthy returns for any followers who backed him each-way at 6/1 pre-tournament.
Aside from Mbappe, the rest of the major awards went to Spanish players after their remarkable run to the country’s second World Cup title following a 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina in the final at MetLife Stadium. Ferran Torres scored the winner in the 106th minute as Spain shut out Messi and Argentina.
Mbappe is now chasing even bigger history. At just 27 years old, he has already won two Golden Boots and is now one of the highest scorers in World Cup history. With the 2030 World Cup still to come, he could become the first player to win three Golden Boots and break the all-time goals record.
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