France forward Kylian Mbappe has become the first player to win the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot twice after finishing as the leading scorer at the 2026 tournament, despite his country’s failure to lift the trophy.
The Real Madrid striker ended the competition with 10 goals, securing the award after Argentina captain Lionel Messi failed to score in Sunday’s final, where Spain claimed a 1-0 victory to win the World Cup.
While Spain celebrated the biggest prize in international football, the newly crowned champions also dominated the individual awards.
Midfielder Rodri was named the tournament’s best player, collecting the Golden Ball, goalkeeper Unai Simon received the Golden Glove, and defender Pau Cubarsi was recognised as the Best Young Player.
Mbappe’s achievement places him in World Cup history as the first footballer to win the Golden Boot at two different editions of the tournament.
He previously claimed the award at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after scoring eight goals, although France were beaten by Argentina in the final.
His latest triumph came after an outstanding scoring campaign that saw him finish comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
The French captain boosted his tally by scoring twice in France’s dramatic 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
Those goals took his tournament total to 10 and left Messi requiring at least three goals in the final to overtake him.
That challenge proved beyond Argentina against a disciplined Spanish defence.
The South Americans were unable to register a single shot on target throughout the final and managed only two attempts in total, both arriving late in the match.
Messi, who had hoped to lead Argentina to back-to-back World Cup titles while also capturing his first Golden Boot, finished the competition on eight goals.
The Argentine superstar also ended the tournament without finding the net in his final three matches.
Messi had enjoyed a prolific start to the World Cup, scoring eight goals across Argentina’s three group-stage fixtures as well as the round of 32 and round of 16.
However, Spain’s defensive organisation denied him the opportunity to add to that tally in the final.
Mbappe’s closest challengers in the race for the Golden Boot included Norway striker Erling Haaland and England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who both finished on seven goals.
England captain Harry Kane and France winger Ousmane Dembele each ended the tournament with six goals.
The French striker’s scoring run began with two goals in a 3-1 victory over Senegal before he struck another brace in a 3-0 win against Iraq.
Although he failed to score in France’s 4-1 victory over Norway, Mbappe quickly returned to form by netting twice again in a 3-0 round of 32 win over Sweden.
Although France fell short of winning the World Cup, Mbappe’s consistency in front of goal ensured he left the tournament with another historic milestone.
For Spain, however, victory in the final capped a memorable campaign, with the European champions not only lifting the World Cup trophy but also claiming three of the four major individual awards.
The tournament also carried significance for African football, with Senegal featuring in France’s opening match against Mbappe and the continent continuing to provide strong opposition on the global stage.
While no African player finished among the tournament’s top award winners, the performances of African nations reinforced their growing competitiveness at the World Cup as attention now begins to shift towards the next global competition.
