Read 3 minutesJuly 19, 2026 at 12:21 pm IST
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are at the top of the race for the Golden Boot from the 2022 FIFA World Cup and their goal clash will conclude when Argentina take on Spain in New Jersey on the final day of the 2026 World Cup.
Mbappe, who won the Golden Boot with Messi’s seven goals in 2022, surpassed the Argentina captain with 10 goals in this edition. The Frenchman scored twice in a 4-6 defeat against England in the third-place play-off match. Mbappe scored a total of 10 goals and became the fourth highest goalscorer at the World Cup.
Also read | FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: How can Messi beat Mbappe to top spot in final?
The 26-year-old scored 22 goals across three editions, with Messi trailing him on the charts with 21 goals.
Messi will need at least two goals and an assist in the final to break Mbappe’s lead in the Golden Boot race, while a double strike would also mark him as the ultimate knockout performer in World Cup history.
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Featuring in a record-equalling third World Cup final, Messi, 39, will aim to add to his two goals from Mbappe’s 2022 summit clash against France. Messi grabbed a penalty and a 108th-minute strike while Mbappe scored a hat-trick in a thrilling final where Argentina and France were inseparable after 120 minutes, locked 3-3.
The Real Madrid superstar previously scored the fourth goal in France’s 4-1 win over Croatia in the 2018 final, leading the all-time chart for most goals in FIFA World Cup finals since 1930.
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FIFA World Cup Finals: Top Scorers
| player | team | scored a goal | Played the finals | Final |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 4 | 2 | 2018, 2022 |
| Geoff Hurst | England | 3 | 1 | 1966 |
| wind up | Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1958, 1962 |
| drank | Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1958, 1970 |
| Zinedine Zidane | France | 3 | 2 | 1998, 2006 |
| Gino Colassi | Italy | 2 | 1 | 1938 |
| Silvio Piola | Italy | 2 | 1 | 1938 |
| Helmut Rahn | West Germany | 2 | 1 | 1954 |
| Mario Kempes | Argentina | 2 | 1 | 1978 |
| Paul Breitner | West Germany | 2 | 2 | 1974, 1982 |
| Ronaldo | Brazil | 2 | 2 | (1998), 2002 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 2 | 2 | (2014), 2022 |
Apart from England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966, Mbappe is one of only two players to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. The legendary Pele, his Brazilian compatriot Wawa and Zinedine Zidane are the only players to have scored three goals in the final stages of football.