Kylian Mbappé wins 2026 World Cup Golden Boot

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 9: Kylian Mbappe of France celebrates his goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium on July 9, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Eduardo Carmim/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) Getty Images

World Cup history has been made as Real Madrid forward and France captain Kylian Mbappé has become the first player ever to win a World Cup Golden Boot award twice.

He does in extraordinary fashion, matching a goal tally of 10 goals which was last equalled by Gerd Müller in 1970 and was the highest-scoring return for 56 years until this summer’s tournament. Argentina’s Lionel Messi was his closest rival but ended the competition on eight goals after failing to score against England in the semi-final or against Spain in the final.

Mbappé becomes the second Real Madrid player to win the Golden Boot while with the club, after Davor Šuker for Croatia in 1998. Others to have played for the club and won the award include Ronaldo Nazario for Brazil in 2002 and James Rodríguez for Colombia in 2014, both joining Los Blancos later that summer.

Only two men have ever scored more goals in a single tournament. One is a compatriot, Just Fontaine, who retains the record of 13 goals scored in the 1958 World Cup. The other is former Barcelona striker Sánder Kocsis who scored 11 in 1954.

Mbappé’s goals at the 2026 World Cup

Mbappé opened his account with a brace in a 3-1 win over Senegal, the second of which was a rocket from distance and made him France’s all-time leading goalscorer, overtaking Olivier Giroud.

He followed it up with another brace against Iraq, in a game in Philadelphia hit by thunderstorms, scoring with a shot worth 0.04 xG for the second game in a row as he hit one from distance.

The first game for Mbappé without a goal in the tournament came against a weakened Norway side for the final group stage game, but he still claimed two assists as he set up Ousmane Dembélé for both of France’s first two goals.

The round of 32 fixture against Sweden gave Mbappé his third double of the tournament, with goals either side of half-time from remarkably similar angles and both worth only 0.05 xG.

Paraguay were France’s rivals in the round of 16 and Mbappé scored from the penalty spot to break the deadlock with the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory.

His luck from the spot was diminished for the quarter-final against Morocco, where Yassine Bounou saved his effort, but Mbappé made amends with another goal worth 0.05 xG from the edge of the box in the first goal in a 2-0 win. He also set up Dembélé with another assist for the second.

Mbappé had his first game without a goal involvement in France’s crushing semi-final defeat to Spain, registering one blocked shot and two off target attempts, both of which came after 89 minutes and with the game done and dusted at 2-0.

The third-place play-off was just as disappointing for France, but Mbappé did his best to rally his teammates back from a 4-0 deficit in the first half by scoring two in the second period to bring the scoreline back to 6-4 by the final whistle.

Other Real Madrid goalscorers at the World Cup

Elsewhere, England’s Jude Bellingham scored seven goals to end in joint-fourth place with Erling Haaland, and there was a single goal for Arda Güler for Turkey.