France skipper Mbappé claims place in World Cup legend with second 'golden boot'
Mbappé picked up the accolade for leading marksman for the first time at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The then 23-year-old scored five goals in France's surge to the final.
In the showdown against Argentina, he scored a hat trick to take his haul up to eight before France lost in a penalty shootout.
The picture of him glumly holding the 'golden boot' award after the final remains one of the most iconic pictures of that tournament. Kylian Mbappé scored eight goals to win the 'golden boot' award for the top striker at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In the game, Mbappé joined England's Geoff Hurst as the only men to score three goals in a World Cup final.
Unlike Hurst in 1966, Mbappé finished on the losing side and his hat trick was not - as they say in the trade - "perfect".
All three of Mbappé's goals were with his right foot whereas Hurst scored his hat trick with a header, a goal from a right footed shot and then a strike with the left foot.
More Mbappé magic in 2026
In the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Mbappé featured in a France front line that included Paris Saint-Germain's Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and Bayern Munich's Michael Olise.
The 27-year-old Real Madrid forward went into the competition with 56 goals for his country of which 12 were at two World Cup tournaments.
Torres' extra-time strike seals Spain's second World Cup as Argentina finish with 10 men
In the opening game of the 2026 competition against Senegal, Mbappé equalled Olivier Giroud's Francerecord of 57 goals and then broke it with another strike in France's 3-1 win over Senegal.
Two more followed in the game against Iraq. And there were two more in the 3-0 breeze past Sweden in the last 32.
His converted penalty put paid to Paraguay in the last 16 and he scored the first goal in the 2–0 victory over Morocco in the quarter-final to take his tally up to eight.
Crucially, he got no purchase from the miserly Spain defence as France lost 2-0 in the semi-final in Dallas.
The final goals came during the match for the bronze medal against England in Miami.
England led 4-0 at half-time before Mbappé led the fight back to 4-3 with two goals. England eventually prevailed 6-4.
Those strikes took Mbappé to 10 goals and a record 22 overall during his three World Cup appearances.
Lionel Messi, his only active rival for the 2026 golden boot and the accolade of World Cup leading goalscorer, was neutralised during the final as Spain won 1-0 to brandish the trophy for the second time.