Best World Cup scoring duel: Mbappé vs Messi ahead of final

Kylian Mbappé struck a decisive goal in the World Cup third‑place match as France fell 4‑6 to England, leaving the French side unable to claim victory despite his two strikes. The chaotic encounter saw England surge ahead, sealing a loss that France could not overturn.

Even the chaotic nature of the third‑place match could not hide France's 4‑6 defeat to England. The match, described as completely crazy, ended with France still unable to win.

Even so, Mbappé's tally of 21 goals moved him past Lionel Messi and placed him at the top of the all‑time FIFA World Cup scoring chart. This new record makes him the leading scorer in World Cup history.

Tonight, La Pulga' could move back ahead if he scores three goals in the final against Spain at 9 p.m. The Argentine forward has a chance to reclaim the lead in the all‑time tally.

"I would rather not be the top scorer and play in the final tomorrow. I don't care about being top scorer. Messi will score tomorrow. He always does," Mbappé said directly after the third‑place match. He added that he hopes his rival enjoys a great game because he has earned it.

With his two goals, Mbappé also wrote himself into World Cup history twice, becoming only the fourth player to score ten or more goals in a single tournament. The last to achieve this was Gerd Müller, who netted ten goals at the 1970 World Cup, 56 years earlier.

From the French perspective, it was their weakest World Cup showing since Mbappé debuted in 2017, and the squad could not give coach Didier Deschamps a farewell gift. "But unfortunately, in the first half it felt like we had let him down. We wanted to thank him for everything he has done, but this game will not damage Didier Deschamps' legacy," he said after the final whistle.

He added that the players were human and completely off their game in the first half, receiving a real wake‑up call. "In the second half, we became top players again – mental machines that no longer allow any emotions. We won that second half, but in the end we didn't win the match," Mbappé explained.

Looking ahead, the French are likely to make another push in four years, with media reports suggesting Zinédine Zidane could be on the touchline by then. The team hopes to build on the lessons learned from this tournament.