The France superstar struck 10 goals and supplied four assists to secure a second successive Golden Boot, finishing two goals clear of Argentina captain Lionel Messi.
Mbappé completed his charge with two goals and an assist in France’s remarkable 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place play-off.
Those goals carried him past Messi as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. Mbappé now has 22 goals in 22 appearances, one more than the Argentine great.
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He scored four times as France lifted the trophy in 2018, eight during their run to the 2022 final and another 10 across the 2026 tournament.
No player had previously won two World Cup Golden Boots.
His latest haul also matched Gerd Müller’s 10 goals for West Germany in 1970. Only Just Fontaine, with 13 in 1958, and Sándor Kocsis, with 11 in 1954, have scored more at a single tournament.
France finished fourth, but Mbappé still walked away with the World Cup scoring throne firmly in his possession.
And this hardly felt like a farewell.
Mbappé will be only 31 when the next World Cup arrives in 2030. Barring the unexpected, he will be back, chasing more goals, more records and the trophy that slipped away this time.
Photo: Reuters/David Butler Ii
