France captain Kylian Mbappe had jumped to the top of the Golden Boot race in FIFA World Cup 2026 ahead of Lionel Messi after scoring twice vs England in 3rd place playoffs match on Saturday.
Published: July 19, 2026, 9:09 AM IST
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France’s Kylian Mbappe has grabbed FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race ahead of Lionel Messi. (Image: AI)
France vs England FIFA World Cup 2026 3rd Place Playoff: France captain Kylian Mbappe has managed to turn the Golden Boot race in the FIFA World Cup 2026 on its head after scoring a brace in the 10-goal thriller against England at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday. Mbappe grabbed the world record of scoring most goals in the World Cup from Lionel Messi as well as he now has 22 as compared to Argentinian’s 21.
The 27-year-old French striker ended his campaign in the FIFA World Cup 2026 with 10 goals and 4 assists in 769 minutes to play to grab the lead in the Golden Boot race. Messi will now need to score a hat-trick against Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final at the MetLife Stadium at New York, New Jersey, to prevent Mbappe from winning the Golden Boot for the second successive edition. Mbappe had won the Golden Boot in 2022 World Cup as well with 8 goals in the edition as France ended up as runners-up to Argentina in Qatar.
Mbappe has now become only the 4th player in the history of the World Cup to score 10 or more goals and first one to achieve this feat in the last 56 years. Here are names of football stars with 10 or more goals in single edition of World Cup…
Sándor Kocsis (Italy): 11 goals (1954)
Just Fontaine (France): 13 goals (1958)
Gerd Muller (Germany): 10 goals (1970)
Kylian Mbappe (France): 10 goals (2026)
France, however, finished in 4th place with a 6-4 loss to Harry Kane’s England in the third-place playoff match on Saturday.
Here is the Golden Boot table after France vs England FIFA World Cup 2026 3rd place Playoff…
| Rank | Player | County | Goals | Assists | Mins. Played |
| 1 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 10 | 4 | 769 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 | 4 | 712 |
| 3 | Jude Bellingham | England | 7 | 1 | 698 |
| 4 | Erling Haaland | Norway | 7 | 0 | 537 |
| 5 | Ousmane Dembele | France | 6 | 2 | 648 |
England’s Jude Bellingham has climbed to 3rd place with his match-sealing goal vs France in Miami in the 8th minute of stoppage time. He surpassed Norway’s Erling Haaland, thanks to his one assist – according to FIFA’s tie-breaking rules. Both Bellingham and Haaland have 7 goals each but the Norway striker had played lesser minutes.
Here are last 5 winners of FIFA World Cup Golden Boot…
| World Cup | Winner | Country | Goals |
| 2022 (Qatar) | Kylian Mbappé | France | 8 |
| 2018 (Russia) | Harry Kane | England | 6 |
| 2014 (Brazil) | James Rodríguez | Colombia | 6 |
| 2010 (South Africa) | Thomas Müller | Germany | 5 |
| 2006 (Germany) | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
Bellingham became the highest-ever goal-scorer for England in the World Cup with 7 strikes. Harry Kane had managed to score six goals in 2026 and 2018 edition while Gary Linekar also had 6 goals.
France and Barcelona striker Ousmane Dembele, who also scored against England had climbed to 5th place ahead of England’s Harry Kane, thanks to his 2 assists ahead of English star’s one. Both Dembele and Kane have six goals each.
