Kylian Mbappe has scored 10 goals at this World Cup — the most in a single edition since Gerd Muller in 1970 — but he may still lose the Golden Boot to Lionel Messi in tonight’s final between Argentina and Spain. Mbappe’s two goals in France’s 6-4 defeat by England in the third-place play-off moved him two clear of Messi, who has eight for the tournament. If the 39-year-old Messi scores twice against Spain, he will take the prize on assists. Anything less and Mbappe, 27, will become the first player to win the Golden Boot twice.
The race extends to all-time World Cup scoring: Mbappe now leads 22-21 over Messi. Only eight players had ever scored eight or more goals at a single World Cup before this tournament — Muller, Just Fontaine, Sandor Kocsis, Ademir, Eusebio, Guillermo Stabile, Ronaldo and Mbappe. England’s Jude Bellingham finished third in the Golden Boot standings with seven goals, the most by an Englishman at a single World Cup, after his team beat France 6-4 to claim third place.
“Mbappe leads Messi by two goals in Golden Boot race, with final tonight.”
Tonight’s final in New Jersey will also feature a pre-game appearance by Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who said the tournament “would not have been such an incredible success without” Trump. Infantino, whom Trump calls “Jonny”, invented a FIFA Peace Prize for Trump and intervened to lift a suspension on Folarin Balogun. Other controversies included the banning of Somalian referee Omar Artan and poor treatment of the Iranian national team.
The final brings together Messi and Spain’s 19-year-old winger Lamine Yamal, who first met at a UNICEF photoshoot 19 years ago when Yamal was a baby. The viral image has resurfaced as the two prepare to face off. Messi, who scored eight goals and assisted Lautaro Martinez to defeat England in the semi-finals, has one more chance to add to his legacy. As Andy Dunn wrote in the Mirror, his numbers “do not do justice to his genius” — but a second consecutive World Cup title would.