Mbappe becomes World Cup all-time leading scorer as France lose bronze match
Kylian Mbappe scored his 22nd World Cup goal, overtaking Lionel Messi for the tournament's all-time record, but France were beaten 6-4 by England in the third-place playoff.
Kylian Mbappé scored his 22nd World Cup goal in the third-place match against England, moving ahead of Lionel Messi on the tournament's all-time scoring list. Despite his brace, France fell 6-4 to the Three Lions, ending Didier Deschamps' tenure as head coach.
Mbappé's two goals also placed him at the top of the race for the Golden Boot, giving him a two-goal lead over Messi in the competition.
"Messi is going to score (on Sunday), that's for sure. I'm just trying to help my team win. When you score a lot of goals at the World Cup, it puts you in a certain category," Mbappé said. "I would have preferred not to be the all-time top scorer and to be playing tomorrow's match. It's good in terms of legacy, but today it's not the first thing on my mind," he added.
England dominated the first half with four goals, and Bukayo Saka completed a hat-trick while Jude Bellingham became the first English player to net seven goals at a single World Cup. The victory secured England's third-place finish, its best result since the 1966 tournament.
The match marked Deschamps' final game as France's coach. He previously led the nation to World Cup titles as both player in 1998 and manager in 2018, and to a runner-up finish in 2022. France will look to regroup ahead of next year's tournament.