Mbappé strips Messi of 'historic title'

The curtain fell on the 2026 World Cup competitions after 39 days in which football captivated its fans, with the closing ceremony being a deserved coronation for the Spanish national team, which wrote history by winning the second title in its history, while Argentina failed to retain its title.

Argentine captain Lionel Messi appeared far from the expected level of the fans, as he did not pose any danger to Spain's goal, failing to reclaim two titles that Frenchman Kylian Mbappé snatched from him thanks to his two goals against England during the match between France and England on Saturday to determine third place. Messi entered the World Cup final match looking for two goals to regain the top of the all-time World Cup scorers list, which Mbappé had snatched with 22 goals, one goal ahead of Messi.

Mbappé also officially sealed the 2026 World Cup top scorer title, becoming the first player in history to win the World Cup top scorer award (Golden Boot) in two consecutive editions. Mbappé scored 10 goals in the 2026 edition, while he had scored 8 goals in the 2022 edition, and scored 4 goals in the 2018 edition.