2026 World Cup: France Captain Kylian Mbappe Breaks Lionel Messi’s Goal Record
- France captain Kylian Mbappe has overtaken Lionel Messi to become the highest goal scorer in World Cup history
- The Real Madrid star scored a brace in Les Bleus' 6-4 loss to England in the third-place match on Saturday night, July 17
- Mbappe is on the verge of winning a back-to-back Golden Boot award at the Mundial, pending the result of the final between Argentina and Spain
France captain Kylian Mbappe has become the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history after breaking Lionel Messi's long-standing record during Les Bleus' third-place playoff against England on Saturday, July 18.
Mbappe reached the milestone despite France suffering a dramatic 6-4 defeat in a thrilling encounter at Miami Stadium.
The former Paris Saint-Germain forward once again underlined his status as one of football's greatest tournament performers with another clinical display.
Source: Getty Images
Mbappe surpasses Lionel Messi
Kylian Mbappe entered the third-place playoff with 20 World Cup goals, having already scored eight times at the 2026 tournament.
The Real Madrid forward drew level with Lionel Messi on 21 World Cup goals when he found the net just three minutes into the second half, per Yahoo Sports.
He then made history shortly after the hour mark, finishing off a pass from Michael Olise to score his second of the afternoon and move onto 22 World Cup goals.
The strike saw Mbappe overtake Messi to become the outright highest scorer in FIFA World Cup history. The 27-year-old now leads the tournament scoring chart with 10 goals.
Messi, who has scored 21 goals at the tournament across his illustrious career, now trails the French superstar ahead of Argentina's final against Spain on Sunday, July 19.
Meanwhile, Messi sits second with eight goals and would need to score at least twice in the World Cup final to draw level with his long-time rival in the Golden Boot race, per infonews.
Mysterious cat predicts France vs England
Legit.ng previously reported that Nimbus Pronos predicted the result of the 2026 FIFA World Cup third-place match between France and England.
The feline oracle backs Les Bleus to score another victory over England in the clash of the losers in the semi-finals as the Mundial reaches its conclusion.
Source: Legit.ng
