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Golden Boot tracker: What Messi needs to overtake Mbappe at the World Cup

Kylian Mbappe used the World Cup third-place game to take a lead over Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
ByAlicia de Artola|
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Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe | KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/GettyImages

Key Points

Bullet point summary by AI

  • A French star now leads the World Cup Golden Boot race after a dominant performance in the third-place game.
  • The Argentina captain must score at least three goals in Sunday's final to claim the tournament's top individual award.
  • This weekend also features a historic chase for the all-time World Cup scoring record, with one player poised to cement his legacy forever.

Meaningless as it may have been for the teams involved, the third-place game still might have had a significant impact on the World Cup history books. With Kylian Mbappe scoring two goals, the French star took the lead over Argentina's Lionel Messi for goals at this year's tournament. Whoever finishes on top of the scoring charts after Sunday's final will officially win the Golden Boot.

Mbappe entered Saturday tied with Messi at eight goals apiece. After France fell behind to England 4-0 after one half of play, Mbappe led his team on a furious comeback to make the game interesting. He scored in the 48th and 66th minutes, bracketing Bradley Barcola's 54th-minute goal to pull France back 4-3.

World Cup Golden Boot standings

  1. Kylian Mbappe, France — 10
  2. Lionel Messi, Argentina — 8
  3. Jude Bellingham, England — 7
  4. Erling Haaland, Norway — 7
  5. Harry Kane, England — 6
  6. Ousmane Dembele, France — 5
  7. Mikel Oyarzabal, Spain — 5

Mbappe leads the pack with 10 goals. He's the first double-digit goal scorer since Germany's Gerd Müller in 1970. If he holds onto that lead, he'll own back-to-back Golden Boots. No other top goal scorer in World Cup history has ever done it twice.

More than just the World Cup is at stake for Messi in the final

Messi still has the chance to overtake Mbappe atop the goal chart. He and Argentina take on Spain on Sunday in the final. He has enough on his hands trying to lead his team to victory, but a couple of goals would give him at least part ownership of another golden trophy.

It would take a hat trick for Messi to deny Mbappe the Golden Boot and claim it for himself. But that's not all. Mbappe's brace against England moved him ahead of Messi on the all-time scoring charts for the World Cup.

All-time World Cup goals scored

  1. Kylian Mbappe, France — 22
  2. Lionel Messi, Argentina — 21
  3. Miroslav Klose, Germany — 16
  4. Ronaldo, Brazil — 15
  5. Harry Kane, England — 14
  6. Gerd Muller, Germany — 14

Mbappe now has 22 career goals at the World Cup, the most all time. That had been Messi's title before Saturday.

It'll take one goal for Messi to tie Mbappe's new record and two to overtake him again.

Of course, this particular record chase may be all moot. Mbappe has scored his 22 goals in just 22 matches. And at just 27 years old, he's got at least one, if not two more World Cups left in him. If he's got Messi's longevity, he could even make a third tournament. The chances that Messi keeps the record for long are very low. Still, getting it back now ensures he'll hold it for another four years.

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