MIAMI, July 18 (Reuters) – France striker Kylian Mbappe became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals when he netted twice in Les Bleus’ 6-4 defeat by England in the third-place game on Saturday.
The 27-year-old leapfrogged Argentina’s Lionel Messi (21), who is due to play in Sunday’s final against Spain, and although that will almost certainly be his rival’s last World Cup game, Mbappe will probably play in at least one more global tournament.
Mbappe finished his third World Cup campaign with 10 goals to the lead the Golden Boot standings, two ahead of Messi.
The Real Madrid forward managed the feat in 22 appearances, scoring four goals in 2018 and eight in 2022 as France reached both finals, beating Croatia and losing to Argentina four years ago.
“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,” Mbappe 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.”
(Reporting by Julien Pretot in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)
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