MIAMI : France captain Kylian Mbappe became the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading scorer on Saturday after netting twice in his side’s 6-4 defeat by England in the third-place playoff.
The 27-year-old took his career World Cup tally to 22 goals, moving ahead of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who has 21 heading into Sunday’s final against Spain.
Mbappe also finished his third World Cup campaign with 10 goals, leaving him two clear of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot as the tournament’s leading scorer.
The Real Madrid forward reached the milestone in just 22 World Cup appearances, having scored four goals in France’s triumphant 2018 campaign, eight during their run to the 2022 final and 10 at the 2026 tournament.
Despite the individual achievement, Mbappe said he would gladly have traded the record for a place in the World Cup final.
“Messi is going to score (on Sunday), that’s for sure. I’m just trying to help my team win,” Mbappe said.
“When you score a lot of goals at the World Cup, it puts you in a certain category.”
“I would have preferred not to be the all-time top scorer and to be playing tomorrow’s match. It’s good in terms of legacy, but today it’s not the first thing on my mind.”
Mbappe’s goals were not enough to prevent France from losing a thrilling third-place playoff, as Bukayo Saka’s hat-trick inspired England to a 6-4 victory.
Messi will have one final opportunity to add to his tally when defending champions Argentina face Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final at New York New Jersey Stadium.
