France captain Kylian Mbappé etched his name into football history on Saturday after becoming the FIFA World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer during France’s 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place playoff.
Mbappé reached the milestone by scoring twice in the entertaining encounter at Miami Stadium, surpassing Argentina captain Lionel Messi’s record.
The France forward opened his account in the 48th minute, calmly finishing from a pass by Michael Olise to spark his side’s comeback after trailing 4-0 at halftime.
He struck again in the 66th minute following a well-worked move involving Ousmane Dembélé and Olise, reducing England’s lead to 4-3 and setting a new World Cup scoring record.
The brace also moved Mbappé ahead of Messi in the race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot ahead of Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain.
The 27-year-old has now scored 10 goals and provided four assists during the tournament, underlining his outstanding campaign.
Mbappé’s latest goals also took his overall World Cup tally to 22 goals in 22 appearances, making him the highest scorer in the tournament’s history.
Despite his historic achievement, France were unable to complete their comeback, with England eventually claiming third place after a thrilling 6-4 victory.
