France’s star striker Kylian Mbappé is the undisputed King of the World Cup.
The 27-year-old ended the summer with 10 goals and four assists across eight matches and was subsequently crowned the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot winner, an award given to the tournament’s top goalscorer. It marked Mbappé’s second-consecutive time winning the award, after first walking away with it at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with eight total goals. He is the only male player in World Cup history to have ever won the award more than once.
His performance this summer also saw him become the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer with 22 total, a number he achieved across just three tournaments (2018, 2022, 2026). He was in battle for the record with Argentina soccer legend Lionel Messi, who ended with 21 total goals, a number the 39-year-old needed six tournaments to reach (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026).
Now that the 2026 World Cup is finished, Mbappé will hold the record for at least four years, yet perhaps much longer, considering Messi is likely to retire before the 2030 edition. The player third on the list is retired German star, Miroslav Klose, with 16 goals. He held the record coming into this summer.
How Did Kylian Mbappe Win the Golden Boot Race?
Following the semifinal matches—France’s 2–0 loss to Spain and Argentina’s 2–1 victory over England, Messi stood atop the podium in the Golden Boot race. He and Mbappé both had eight goals; however, Messi edged him out in the tiebreaker, which is assists, with four.
Mbappé put on a dazzling show, though, in Saturday’s Bronze Final against England in Miami, scoring a brace and adding an assist to overtake Messi. The Argentine would have needed to respond with a brace and assist of his own in Sunday’s World Cup final, or a hat-trick, to reclaim the Golden Boot.
The Frenchman will be grateful that Spain completely shut Argentina down, including Messi, en route to a 1–0 victory that was rather one-sided despite the scoreline. Messi did not even take one shot at MetLife Stadium, nor a single touch in Spain’s box.
Mbappé has firmly etched himself into World Cup history. While Messi might be heading for the exit door of his international career, Mbappé seems to be just getting started.
