Kylian Mbappé Breaks World Cup Goals Record Despite France’s Loss to England
Kylian Mbappé scored twice against England in Saturday’s World Cup third-place game, moving ahead of Lionel Messi in both the Golden Boot race and the World Cup record books. The second-half brace brought the France captain’s total to 22 career World Cup goals, marking the most in the tournament’s history.
Mbappé’s record-breaking goal came after France launched another attack in the second half, with the forward finding space in the box before finishing clinically for his second of the afternoon.
Trailing 4-0 at halftime, France responded quickly after the break. Dayot Upamecano delivered a pinpoint pass into the box, where Mbappé calmly placed his shot into the bottom-right corner in the 48th minute.
Unfortunately for Mbappé, his two goals were not enough as England secured a wild 6-4 victory in the third-place match.
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Mbappé concluded the tournament with 10 goals, bringing his all-time World Cup total to 22. He scored four times in 2018, helping France to victory, and added eight goals in 2022 when they finished as runners-up to Argentina.
This World Cup saw Mbappé score in six of France’s eight matches, contributing at least one goal or assist in seven games.
As the 2026 World Cup approaches, Miroslav Klose holds the all-time tournament goals record with 16. The German striker participated in four World Cups and scored in three of them.
Messi surpassed Klose during the group stage with a pair of goals in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria, reaching his 16th and 17th all-time World Cup goals. Mbappé broke the tie with Klose by scoring his 17th goal in a 3-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 32.
Messi will have an opportunity to reclaim the top spot on the all-time list when Argentina faces Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday.