France captain Kylian Mbappe has made history by becoming the first player to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice after finishing as the top scorer at the 2026 tournament.
The Real Madrid forward scored 10 goals in eight matches to beat Argentina captain Lionel Messi in the race for the tournament’s top scorer. Mbappe had also claimed the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar with eight goals, making him the first player to win the award in consecutive editions.
The 27-year-old also became the first player since Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1970 to score 10 goals or more in a single World Cup. Only France’s Just Fontaine (13 goals in 1958) and Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis (11 goals in 1954) have scored more in a single tournament.
Mbappe’s tally of 22 World Cup goals also saw him become the men’s all-time leading World Cup scorer, moving one goal ahead of Messi.
Despite his individual success, Mbappe admitted he would have preferred to play in the final after France finished fourth following a thrilling 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place match.
“When you score that many goals in the World Cup, it certainly takes you to a whole new level. But I would have preferred not to be the top scorer and to have played in the final. It’s good for my legacy once I’ve retired, but right now, that’s not what’s on my mind”, said Mbappe.
Mbappe scored twice each against Senegal, Iraq and England, while also finding the net against Sweden, Paraguay and Morocco during France’s run to the semi-finals. Messi, who entered Sunday’s final with eight goals, needed a hat-trick to overtake Mbappe but failed to score as Argentina lost 1-0 to Spain in the final, finishing the tournament with eight goals in eight matches.
Spain dominated the individual awards, with captain Rodri named the tournament’s Golden Ball winner after leading La Roja to their second FIFA World Cup title. England’s Jude Bellingham and Norway’s Erling Haaland finished with seven goals each, while France’s Ousmane Dembele and England captain Harry Kane scored six apiece.
