How Lionel Messi passed Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup Golden Boot race without scoring against England
Lionel Messi has pulled ahead of Kylian Mbappe in the race for the World Cup Golden Boot, even though he didn’t score in Argentina’s exciting semi-final win over England.
Argentina came back from being 1-0 down to win 2-1 in Atlanta, thanks to late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez after Anthony Gordon’s early strike.
La Albiceleste are aiming to become the first team to win the World Cup two times in a row since Brazil did it in 1962. They will face Spain, the European champions, in the final this Sunday in New Jersey.
Messi, now 39, will captain Argentina in his third World Cup final and is in a great spot to win his very first Golden Boot. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored eight goals in this World Cup — one more than he did when Argentina won in 2022.
He’s also the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 21 goals and currently leads Mbappe, even though both have the same number of goals. FIFA uses assists as the first tiebreaker when players have the same goals, and Messi leads there too. If they’re still tied, the Golden Boot goes to the player with fewer minutes played.
While Messi was quiet against England, he assisted both goals, bringing his total to four assists — one more than Mbappe’s three. The Golden Boot race isn’t over yet, though. France still have one match left to play — the third-place playoff against England in Miami. Even though this game is often seen as less important, goals scored here count toward the Golden Boot.
Some key players like Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane might be rested, but both have already scored six goals and could still catch the leaders.
This kind of late-shift in the Golden Boot race has happened before. In 1958, Just Fontaine scored four goals in the third-place game to finish with 13 goals, the most ever in a single World Cup. In 1998, Davor Suker scored the winner in the third-place match, pushing him ahead too. In 2010, Thomas Muller won the Golden Boot after scoring in the third-place game and having more assists than his rivals.
Last time, Mbappe won the Golden Boot after a hat-trick in the thrilling 3-3 final against Argentina, who won on penalties. Messi scored twice in that final and became a world champion. His amazing performance earned him the Golden Ball, and he’s the first player to win it twice.
France’s Ousmane Dembele and Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal also have a chance to win the Golden Boot, as they have scored five goals each in the tournament.