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Mbappe Leads Golden Boot Race; Messi Must Score Twice
19 Jul
Summary
- Messi needs at least two goals to tie Mbappe for the Golden Boot.
- Messi has four assists to Mbappe's three, a key tiebreaker.
- Scoring twice in a World Cup final is a rare and difficult feat.
Kylian Mbappe concluded the 2026 World Cup with 10 goals, putting him in contention for the Golden Boot. Lionel Messi enters the final match against Spain with eight goals, facing the formidable task of scoring at least twice to either tie or surpass Mbappe.
Messi's assist count of four, compared to Mbappe's three, offers a crucial tiebreaker. Should Messi match Mbappe's goal tally, he would claim the award based on this superior assist record. A hat-trick in the final would definitively secure the Golden Boot for Messi, while scoring one or fewer goals would award it to Mbappe.
This scenario echoes the 2022 tournament, where Mbappe also won the Golden Boot with a final hat-trick, despite Messi winning the World Cup and the Golden Ball. The article notes the extreme difficulty of scoring multiple goals in a World Cup final, a feat Messi himself achieved in 2022 against France.
Despite the challenge, Messi still has a strong chance to win the Golden Ball for best player, an award decided by vote and independent of the Golden Boot. He previously won the Golden Ball in 2022 while losing the Golden Boot on the same night.
