Kylian Mbappe has made history by becoming the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice, having secured the award for top scorer at the 2026 tournament. The French forward netted 10 goals across eight matches to finish ahead of Lionel Messi in a competitive scoring race. This achievement follows his eight goals in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, marking a consecutive Golden Boot win for Mbappe.
Mbappe's 10 goals in the 2026 tournament position him as the first player to reach double figures in a World Cup since Gerd Muller for West Germany in 1970. Only Just Fontaine of France (13 goals in 1958) and Hungary's Sandor Kocsis (11 goals in 1954) have scored more goals in a single World Cup tournament. With 22 goals, Mbappe is now also the men's World Cup all-time top scorer, surpassing Messi by one goal.
While Mbappe achieved individual scoring glory, the tournament's overall best player award, the Golden Ball, went to Rodri, captain of the World Cup-winning Spanish team. Spain secured the championship title in a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the final held in New Jersey. Messi, who could have overtaken Mbappe with a hat-trick in the final, finished the competition with eight goals in as many matches.
France secured fourth place in the tournament after a 6-4 defeat to England in the bronze medal match, a game where Mbappe scored twice. Reflecting on his achievement, Mbappe stated, "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. It's good for my legacy once I've retired, but right now, that's not what's on my mind."
Mbappe's goal-scoring journey in the 2026 tournament included two goals against Senegal and Iraq during the group stage, and another against Sweden in the last 32. He also scored the decisive penalty against Paraguay in the last 16 and found the net against Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Other notable scorers in the tournament included England's Jude Bellingham and Norway's Erling Haaland, who each scored seven goals. France's Ousmane Dembele and England captain Harry Kane followed with six goals each.