At the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Kylian Mbappe etched his name into football's deepest records by becoming the first player ever to win the Golden Boot at consecutive World Cups, finishing with 10 goals across eight matches — a feat that surpassed even Lionel Messi's remarkable tally and made the 27-year-old the all-time leading scorer in men's World Cup history. Yet the achievement arrived wrapped in the particular melancholy of sport: France finished fourth, and Mbappe himself admitted he would have traded the golden prize for a place in the final. Meanwhile, Spain claimed not onl
Mbappe makes history with second Golden Boot as Spain sweeps World Cup awards
I would have preferred not to be the top scorer and to have played in the final
Mark
Mbappe says he'd rather have played in the final than won the Golden Boot. Does that feel like genuine regret, or just the right thing to say?
Mimi
Both, probably. He's 27 and just became the all-time World Cup top scorer. That's a legacy thing. But he also just watched his team lose the bronze medal match 6-4. The goals are real, but so is the sting of finishing fourth.
Mark
What does it mean that he's now ahead of Messi in career World Cup goals?
Mimi
It's a changing of the guard, in a way. Messi was the standard for so long. Now Mbappe holds the record. But Messi was 39 in the final and still nearly caught him. That matters too.
Mark
Spain won everything—the tournament, and then all the individual awards. Is that unusual?
Mimi
Not entirely, but it's rare. When a team wins, their best players tend to shine. But Rodri, Simon, and Cubarsi all genuinely had outstanding tournaments. Spain's defense was almost impenetrable. One goal conceded in eight games.
Mark
Cubarsi is 19 and played every minute. That's a lot of pressure for a teenager.
Mimi
It is. But he was part of a defense that barely let anything through. He didn't have to be flashy. He just had to be reliable, and he was.
Mark
Does Mbappe's second Golden Boot change how we think about him as a player?
Mimi
It confirms what people already suspected—he's one of the great finishers of his generation. Two World Cups, two Golden Boots. That's not luck. That's a player who shows up when it matters most.
Il Polso
- Mbappe's 10-goal haul — the first double-figure tally at a World Cup since 1970 — rewrote the record books while France crashed out in the bronze medal match, losing 6-4 to England.
- The race for the Golden Boot became a quiet duel between generations: Mbappe and Messi separated by a single goal, with history tipping toward the younger man by the narrowest of margins.
- Messi's last realistic chance to reclaim the award dissolved in the final, where Argentina managed not a single shot on target against a Spanish defense that conceded just once in eight games.
- Spain's Rodri claimed the Golden Ball, adding a World Cup MVP to his Ballon d'Or and Euro 2024 honors, cementing his standing as the defining midfielder of his era.
- Nineteen-year-old Pau Cubarsi and goalkeeper Unai Simon completed Spain's sweep of individual awards, underscoring a collective dominance that left little glory for any other nation to claim.
At the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Kylian Mbappe etched his name into football's deepest records by becoming the first player ever to win the Golden Boot at consecutive World Cups, finishing with 10 goals across eight matches — a feat that surpassed even Lionel Messi's remarkable tally and made the 27-year-old the all-time leading scorer in men's World Cup history. Yet the achievement arrived wrapped in the particular melancholy of sport: France finished fourth, and Mbappe himself admitted he would have traded the golden prize for a place in the final. Meanwhile, Spain claimed not only the championship but swept the tournament's individual honors, suggesting that collective triumph and individual brilliance need not always belong to the same story.
Kylian Mbappe has become the first player in history to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice, finishing the 2026 tournament in the United States with 10 goals across eight matches — a tally that edged out Lionel Messi and made the 27-year-old the all-time leading scorer in men's World Cup history with 22 goals. He had claimed the same award four years earlier in Qatar with eight goals, and his back-to-back achievement stands entirely alone in the tournament's records.
His 10-goal haul was the first double-figure total at a World Cup since West Germany's Gerd Muller in 1970, placing Mbappe in rare historical company. Yet the triumph carried a sting: the goals that pushed him past Messi came in the bronze medal match, a 6-4 loss to England in which France finished fourth. "I would have preferred not to be the top scorer and to have played in the final," he said afterward — a sentence that captured something true about the limits of individual glory.
Messi, with eight goals in eight games, had a mathematical chance to reclaim the award in the final, but Argentina could not score against Spain, who won 1-0 in New Jersey. Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland each finished with seven goals; Harry Kane and Ousmane Dembele followed with six.
Spain's triumph extended well beyond the scoreline. Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder and Spain's captain, claimed the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player — his third major individual honor after the 2023 Ballon d'Or and Euro 2024's player of the tournament. Goalkeeper Unai Simon won the Golden Glove after conceding just once in eight matches and keeping seven clean sheets. And 19-year-old Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi, who played every minute of the tournament, was named best young player after anchoring a defense that restricted Argentina to two shots in the final — neither on target. Spain had repeated their 2010 triumph and, in doing so, claimed almost every individual prize the tournament had to offer.
Kylian Mbappe has done something no one else has done before: won the World Cup's Golden Boot twice. The France forward claimed the award for top scorer at this summer's tournament in the United States, finishing with 10 goals across eight matches. It was a dominant performance that edged out Lionel Messi in what amounted to a high-stakes race between two of football's most prolific finishers. Mbappe had won the same award four years earlier in Qatar, where he scored eight times. Back-to-back Golden Boots at consecutive World Cups—a feat that stands alone in the tournament's history.
The 27-year-old's tally this summer made him the first player since West Germany's Gerd Muller in 1970 to reach double figures for goals in a single World Cup. Only two players have ever scored more in one tournament: Just Fontaine, who netted 13 for France in 1958, and Hungary's Sandor Kocsis with 11 in 1954. More significantly, Mbappe's career World Cup total now stands at 22 goals, moving him past Messi into the all-time lead by a single strike. Yet when asked about the achievement after Saturday's match in Miami, Mbappe's response carried a note of resignation. He had scored twice in the bronze medal game—the goals that pushed him past Messi—but France lost 6-4 to England, finishing fourth. "When you score that many goals in the World Cup, it certainly takes you to a whole new level," he said. "But I would have preferred not to be the top scorer and to have played in the final."
Mbappe's path through the tournament showed the consistency of a player operating at peak efficiency. He scored twice against both Senegal and Iraq in the group stage, then added another against Sweden in the knockout round. In the last 16, he converted a penalty against Paraguay in the 70th minute. Morocco fell to him in the quarter-finals. The goals kept coming, each one a small piece of history accumulating toward something unprecedented.
Messi, meanwhile, had a chance to reclaim the Golden Boot in the final on Sunday in New Jersey. A hat-trick would have given him nine goals and the award. But Argentina's 39-year-old icon could not find the net as Spain defeated his side 1-0, leaving him with eight goals in eight matches—a respectable tally that nonetheless fell short. England's Jude Bellingham and Norway's Erling Haaland each scored seven times. France's Ousmane Dembele and England's Harry Kane followed with six apiece.
Spain's dominance extended far beyond Mbappe's individual achievement. The Spanish side swept the major awards, beginning with Rodri, the Manchester City midfielder and Spain's captain, claiming the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. The 30-year-old received the award from FIFA president Gianni Infantino at MetLife Stadium following the final. It was the third major individual honor of his career—he had won the Ballon d'Or in 2023 and the Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament two years prior. Messi took the Silver Ball as second-best player, while Mbappe earned the Bronze.
Unai Simon, the Athletic Club goalkeeper, won the Golden Glove after conceding just once in eight games. The 29-year-old kept seven clean sheets and was beaten only by Belgium's Charles de Ketelaere in the quarter-final. He had been selected ahead of Arsenal's David Raya as Spain's number one, and his performances vindicated manager Luis de la Fuente's choice. The final award went to 19-year-old Barcelona centre-back Pau Cubarsi, named best young player. Cubarsi played every minute for Spain, anchoring a defense that allowed only one goal across the entire tournament and restricted Argentina to two shots in the final, neither on target. Spain had emulated their 2010 World Cup triumph, and their players had claimed nearly every individual accolade the tournament had to offer.
Citazioni salienti
When you score that many goals in the World Cup, it certainly takes you to a whole new level. But I would have preferred not to be the top scorer and to have played in the final.— Kylian Mbappe, after the bronze medal match
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