A Golden Boot race for the ages has the perfect finale – it will go down to the final match of the tournament.
Kylian Mbappe two goals in France’s incredible 6-4 defeat by England in the third-place play-off moved him two goals clear of Lionel Messi, but the Argentine still has one match left to respond.
And if the 39-year-old can score twice in the final against Spain, he will take the Golden Boot by virtue of having more assists.
Anything less and Mbappe, 27, will become the first player to scoop the prize twice.
That is before we even mention the fight between the two men to be the World Cup’s all-time scorer.
Mbappe now leads that race on 22 goals with Messi one behind.
Mbappe’s double against England took him to 10 for the tournament – the most in a single edition of the World Cup this century. The last player to make it into double figures at a men’s World Cup was Gerd Muller for West Germany in 1970.
And to put that feat further into context, prior to this tournament only eight players had scored eight or more goals at a single World Cup – Muller, Just Fontaine, Sandor Kocsis, Ademir, Eusebio, Guillermo Stabile, Ronaldo and Mbappe.
The 2026 World Cup has certainly been a tournament for the stars.
England talisman Jude Bellingham’s goal against France moved him into third in the Golden Boot standings on seven – the most an Englishman has scored at a single World Cup.
That edged him ahead of Erling Haaland by virtue of assists, with Three Lions captain Harry Kane one goal drift alongside France’s Ousmane Dembele.
