FIFA World Cup Golden Boot 2026: Third-place playoff reshapes race as Lionel Messi falls behind

Kylian Mbappe moved ahead of Lionel Messi in the race for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot and became the tournament's all-time leading scorer despite France's 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place playoff in Miami on Saturday (local time).

The France captain scored twice to take his tally to 10 goals in the tournament, putting him two ahead of Messi, who has eight. His brace also lifted his overall World Cup total to 22 goals in 22 matches, surpassing Messi's 21 goals from 33 World Cup appearances.

Mbappe reaches historic World Cup milestone

Mbappe's goals against England capped another prolific World Cup campaign. Before the third-place playoff, he had scored braces against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden, added a penalty against Paraguay and netted the opening goal against Morocco.


His first goal against England came in the 48th minute when Dayot Upamecano played a precise pass into the penalty area. Mbappe calmly slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner to draw level with Messi's all-time World Cup scoring tally.

He completed the milestone in the 66th minute after Bradley Barcola had reduced the deficit. Michael Olise set up the move with a deft flick before Mbappe controlled the ball and fired a left-footed finish past goalkeeper Dean Henderson. The strike cut England's lead to 4-3 and strengthened Mbappe's position at the top of the Golden Boot standings.

England race into commanding first-half lead

England dominated the opening half, building a 4-0 advantage before the interval. Declan Rice opened the scoring in the third minute before Ezri Konsa doubled the lead in the 18th minute.

Bukayo Saka added two more goals in the 37th minute and first-half stoppage time as France conceded four goals in a single half of a FIFA World Cup match for the first time.

France comeback falls short as England secure bronze medal

France responded strongly after the break in Didier Deschamps' 187th and final match in charge of the national team. Tactical changes at halftime sparked an impressive revival as Mbappe scored in the 48th minute before Barcola made it 4-2 in the 54th minute.

Mbappe's second goal in the 66th minute reduced the deficit to one and increased the pressure on England.

However, England regained control in the closing stages when Saka converted an 87th-minute penalty to complete his hat-trick. Ousmane Dembele scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to keep France in contention, but Jude Bellingham struck in the eighth minute of added time to seal England's 6-4 victory and secure the bronze medal.