Mbappé, all-time top scorer in World Cups
French striker Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in France’s defeat against England (6-4) in the match for third place in the World Cup. With those goals, he reached 22 goals in his career in World Cups, surpassing Lionel Messi, who has 21.
Mbappé finished the tournament with 10 goals, two more than Messi in the fight for the Golden Boot. If Argentina does not get Messi to beat him in the final against Spain, Mbappé would be the first player to win that award twice.
“I would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history and play tomorrow’s game,” declared the attacker, referring to the final that France lost when they fell in the semifinals against Spain.
France was down 4-0 at halftime. Mbappé started the comeback by deflecting a shot over goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the 48th minute. Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé also scored, and Michael Olise had two assists to set a tournament record of seven, surpassing Pelé (six in 1970).
Mbappé’s second goal came in the 66th minute with a left-footed shot from 14 meters. Thus he surpassed Messi’s 21 goals in World Cups.
“There were two very different halves,” Mbappé said. “In the first one, I can understand why some think we made a fool of ourselves. We were human, and we can’t afford it. We were stunned and they woke us up.”
The player pointed out that they wanted to win because of coach Didier Deschamps, who coached his last game as head of the national team. “We didn’t win, and it’s a shame for the coach. The first half gave the impression that we let him down. This game doesn’t tarnish his legacy.”
France won the World Cup in 2018 with Deschamps, lost the 2022 final to Argentina on penalties and was stopped by Spain in the semifinals of this edition.
