France forward Kylian Mbappe has made World Cup history after becoming the first player to win the tournament’s Golden Boot award on two occasions.
Mbappe finished as the top scorer at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with an outstanding return of 10 goals in eight matches, narrowly finishing ahead of Argentina captain Lionel Messi in one of the tournament’s most competitive scoring races.
Having also claimed the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with eight goals, the Real Madrid star has now secured the prestigious award in consecutive editions of the competition.
His latest achievement also saw him become the first player since West Germany legend Gerd Muller in 1970 to reach double digit goals in a single men’s World Cup tournament.
Only France’s Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup, and Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis, who netted 11 in 1954, have recorded more goals in a single edition of the tournament than Mbappe.
The 27 year old also strengthened his place in World Cup history by becoming the competition’s all time leading men’s goalscorer with 22 goals, moving one clear of Lionel Messi.
Mbappe extended his tally during France’s third place playoff against England, scoring twice despite his side’s 6 to 4 defeat, which saw France settle for fourth place.
Earlier in the tournament, he scored two goals each against Senegal and Iraq during the group stage before adding another against Sweden in the Round of 32.
He continued his impressive form with the winning penalty against Paraguay in the Round of 16 and another goal in the quarter final clash against Morocco.
Messi entered the World Cup final with an opportunity to reclaim the lead in the scoring chart but was unable to score as Argentina suffered a narrow 1 to 0 defeat to Spain in New Jersey. The Argentine legend completed the tournament with eight goals from eight appearances.
Spain also dominated the individual awards after lifting the World Cup trophy. Goalkeeper Unai Simon received the Golden Glove after conceding only one goal throughout the tournament.
Nineteen year old Pau Cubarsi was named the Young Player of the Tournament following his impressive performances, while Manchester City midfielder Rodri was crowned the tournament’s Best Player after playing a pivotal role in Spain’s successful campaign.
The leading goalscorers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup were Kylian Mbappe with 10 goals, Lionel Messi with 8, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland with 7 each, Ousmane Dembele with 6, Harry Kane and Mikel Oyarzabal with 5 each, while Ismaila Sarr, Julian Quinones and Vinicius Junior each finished with 4 goals.
