Mbappé passes Messi on World Cup goals list in France fightback
Kylian Mbappé scored twice against England to reach 22 World Cup goals, ESPN reported, moving ahead of Lionel Messi in the all-time chart.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Kylian Mbappé has moved past Lionel Messi at the top of the World Cup scoring charts, ESPN reported, after striking twice for France in Saturday’s third-place playoff against England.
The France captain scored his 21st and 22nd career World Cup goals in the match, pushing him ahead of Messi, who had only recently climbed beyond former record holder Miroslav Klose during the 2026 tournament.
France had a brutal opening half against England, going into the break 4-0 down, according to ESPN. Mbappé started the French response in the 48th minute with a first-time finish, before Bradley Barcola reduced the gap further.
Mbappé then scored again in the 66th minute, giving France fresh life in a wild playoff and giving himself the outright lead in one of soccer’s most watched record races.
ESPN’s match panel listed England as 6-4 winners over France at full time in the 2026 FIFA World Cup third-place game.
Golden Boot race tilts toward Mbappé
The brace also put Mbappé ahead of Messi in the tournament’s Golden Boot chase, ESPN reported. Mbappé has 10 goals at the World Cup in North America, while Messi is on eight.
Messi had built his latest record push with a blistering run through the competition. ESPN reported that he scored a hat trick in Argentina’s tournament opener, then overtook Klose by scoring twice against Austria.
The Argentina captain later added goals against Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt, according to ESPN, before Mbappé’s double against England carried the French forward past him.
Mbappé, now 27 and playing for Real Madrid, has been piling up World Cup moments since he first broke through on the global stage in 2018. That year, ESPN noted, he scored four times, won the Young Player of the Tournament award and helped France lift the trophy.
Four years later, he scored a hat trick in the final, but France still fell short as Messi led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar.
Messi still has one match to answer
Messi, now 39, is playing in his sixth World Cup, ESPN reported. His international story has swung sharply since the earlier years of his career, when his form for Barcelona did not produce the same rewards with Argentina.
That changed in Qatar, where Messi finally lifted the World Cup after Argentina’s victory, eight years after losing the 2014 final to Germany.
Mbappé now owns the lead, but the chase is not finished. Messi is due to captain Argentina against Spain in Sunday’s final, giving him a chance to pull the record back in his direction, according to ESPN.
For now, the all-time World Cup scoring crown belongs to Mbappé, after one frantic second-half burst against England turned a third-place playoff into another entry in his record book.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.