France's Mbappe becomes World Cup's all-time top scorer

France striker Kylian Mbappe has set a new World Cup record, becoming the all-time leading scorer with 22 goals after netting twice in France's 6-4 defeat against England in the third-place playoff. This achievement places him ahead of Argentina's Lionel Messi, who has scored 21 goals and is expected to play his final World Cup match in the upcoming final.

Mbappe, who is 27 years old, concluded his third World Cup campaign with 10 goals, leading the Golden Boot standings and finishing two goals ahead of Messi. He scored four goals in the 2018 tournament and eight in 2022, as France reached the finals in both years, winning in 2018 and losing to Argentina in 2022.

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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.

Despite his new record, Mbappe conveyed that his priority remains team success. "Messi is going to score (on Sunday), that’s for sure. I’m just trying to help my team win," he stated. "When you score a lot of goals at the World Cup, it puts you in a certain category."

He added, "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." Mbappe achieved this scoring feat in 22 appearances across three World Cups.

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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.