The FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race has delivered a finale worthy of the tournament itself — and it will not be settled until the very last kick of the competition.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice as France were beaten 6-4 by England in a breathtaking third-place play-off, lifting his tally to 10 goals for the tournament and moving him two clear of Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot standings.

Messi, however, still has Argentina's final against Spain to come. The 39-year-old needs to score twice to overtake Mbappe — and if he does, the Golden Boot would go to him on the basis of a superior assists record.

Should Messi fall short of that mark, Mbappe, 27, will claim the award for the second time in his career, becoming the first player ever to win the Golden Boot twice.

A record for the ages

Mbappe's 10-goal haul is the highest tally in a single edition of the World Cup this century. The last player to reach double figures at a men's World Cup was Gerd Muller, who struck 10 for West Germany at the 1970 tournament.

Before this tournament, only eight players in history had managed eight or more goals at a single World Cup — Muller, Just Fontaine, Sandor Kocsis, Ademir, Eusebio, Guillermo Stabile, Ronaldo, and Mbappe himself from 2022. That list has now been rewritten.

The stakes extend beyond the Golden Boot. Mbappe also leads the race to become the World Cup's all-time top scorer, his tally of 22 goals placing him one ahead of Messi on 21.

Bellingham makes English history

The scoring records were not Mbappe's alone to dominate. England's Jude Bellingham found the net against France, taking his tournament tally to seven goals — the most ever scored by an Englishman at a single World Cup.

That moved Bellingham into third place in the Golden Boot standings, edging ahead of Erling Haaland on the basis of assists. England captain Harry Kane sits alongside France's Ousmane Dembele, both one goal behind Haaland.

With Messi and Argentina still to face Spain in the final, the 2026 World Cup has saved its most dramatic chapter for last.