Istanbul / Ahmed Hassan / Anadolu

French striker Kylian Mbappé became the all-time top scorer in FIFA World Cup history after scoring two goals in his country's 4-6 loss to England on Sunday in the third-place match of the 2026 World Cup.

The 27-year-old Real Madrid player surpassed the record of Argentine Lionel Messi, both in the race for the Golden Boot of the current edition and in the all-time World Cup scorers list since its inception.

Messi had scored two goals against Austria in the group stage to surpass the previous record held by German Miroslav Klose with 16 goals, before adding more goals against Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt, taking his tally to 21 goals.

Mbappé continued to chase the 39-year-old Argentine star, who was playing in the final on Sunday against Spain for the tournament title, until he succeeded in surpassing him, after raising his tally to 10 goals in the current edition and 22 goals in World Cup history.

** Early start

Mbappé shone brightly at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when he won the Best Young Player award at age 21, after scoring 4 goals and contributing to France's title.

In the 2022 edition, he continued his brilliance by scoring 8 goals, including a hat-trick in the final, but he could not prevent Messi from leading Argentina to the title in a penalty shootout, and he had to settle for winning the Golden Boot.

If Mbappé maintains his lead in the top scorers' list after the final, he will become the first player in World Cup history to win the Golden Boot twice, having also won it at the Qatar World Cup four years ago.

** Record numbers

Mbappé's brace came in the second half of the match against England, after the English team finished the first half leading 4-0. The French striker scored his two goals in the 48th and 66th minutes, but they were not enough to spare the 'Roosters' from defeat.

The third-place match witnessed a series of records, as Mbappé became the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup edition since German Gerd Müller in the 1970 edition, who achieved the same tally.

The match also became the highest-scoring in the World Cup since Hungary's 10-1 victory over El Salvador in the 1982 edition, and it also recorded the highest number of goals in the history of third-place matches.

Frenchman Michael Olise provided two assists, raising his tally to 7 assists in the World Cup, surpassing the previous record held by the late Brazilian Pelé, who set up 6 goals in the 1970 edition.

The match also saw Englishman Jude Bellingham score his seventh goal of the tournament, surpassing the tally of his teammate Harry Kane, who remained on the bench, achieving the best scoring record for an English player in a single World Cup edition.