Kylian Mbappe won the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot after scoring 10 goals during the tournament, becoming the first player to reach double digits in a single World Cup since Gerd Muller in 1970 [1, 2, 3, 4]. He earned his second Golden Boot following his 8-goal haul in 2022, making him the first player to win the award twice [2, 3, 5, 4].
Mbappe broke the all-time men's World Cup scoring record with 22 goals, surpassing Lionel Messi’s previous record of 21 [1, 2, 3, 6, 4]. His goals came across multiple stages: group wins over Senegal and Iraq, the round of 32 against Sweden, the round of 16 versus Paraguay (including a penalty), the quarterfinals against Morocco, and two goals in France’s 6-4 loss to England in the third-place playoff on July 18, 2026 [2, 4, 7].
In the third-place match, Mbappe scored twice but France fell short against England in a high-scoring affair [1, 2, 5, 6, 4]. France finished fourth following the defeat [1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 4].
The 2026 World Cup final was held on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where Spain edged Argentina 1-0 in extra time. Ferran Torres scored the winning goal and said, "It was a goal scored by 47 million people – it wasn’t even mine or from the 26 players. It was destined to happen; it was meant to be a winner" [3, 8, 9, 4, 7].
Lionel Messi ended as runner-up top scorer with 8 goals and 4 assists but failed to score in the final. The 39-year-old Argentine may have played his last World Cup match [2, 3, 8, 9, 5, 4, 7]. Other top scorers included England's Jude Bellingham and Norway's Erling Haaland, each with 7 goals [1, 2, 4, 7].
Spain’s Rodri won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player despite not scoring or assisting in any of his 8 matches. His teammate, goalkeeper Unai Simon, earned the Golden Glove after conceding only one goal throughout the tournament [2, 5, 4, 7].
Mbappe was officially awarded the Golden Boot on July 19, one day after the third-place game and the day of the final [2, 3, 5, 4, 7].
