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.
Mbappe Surpasses Messi's 21-Goal Mark
The Real Madrid forward entered the third-place playoff with 20 World Cup goals, having already scored eight times at the 2026 tournament. He drew level with Messi on 21 goals when he found the net just three minutes into the second half. Then, shortly after the hour mark, he finished a pass from Michael Olise to score his second of the afternoon and move onto 22 World Cup goals, overtaking Messi as the outright highest scorer in tournament history.
According to Yahoo Sports, Mbappe now leads the Golden Boot race with 10 goals at the 2026 World Cup. Messi, who has scored 21 goals across his career, sits second with eight goals and would need at least two in the final against Spain to draw level with Mbappe in the Golden Boot race, per infonews.
Record-Breaking Performance in High-Scoring Defeat
Mbappe's brace came in a match that saw 10 goals, with England prevailing 6-4. The 27-year-old French captain once again underlined his status as one of football's greatest tournament performers with another clinical display. His achievement comes as he 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.
Legit.ng previously reported that Nimbus Pronos, a mysterious cat, predicted the result of the third-place match, backing Les Bleus to secure a victory over England. However, France fell short despite Mbappe's historic performance.
