<\/p>\n
Kylian Mbappe has capped off a stellar World Cup by claiming his second Golden Boot award.<\/p>\n
The French sensation finished with 10 goals for the tournament, two clear of Lionel Messi, who was unable to close the gap in Argentina\u2019s 1-0 loss to Spain in a tense tournament final<\/a>.<\/p>\n He is the first ever player to claim a second Golden Boot, having previously won the award at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.<\/p>\n Messi was well held by some miserly Spanish defending as Argentina remarkably finished with just three shots for the match – all of them coming deep into the second half of extra time.<\/p>\n Mbappe\u2019s victory comes despite France\u2019s loss to Spain in the semi-finals.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n \u2018SORE LOSER\u2019: <\/i>Argentina slammed over \u2018disgusting\u2019 act<\/i><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n \u2018WHAT THE F**K IS GOING ON?\u2019 World Cup half-time show baffles <\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u2018GOAL CAME FROM 47M PEOPLE\u2019: Messi miracle denied by historic US stunner<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u2018ABSOLUTELY IMMENSE\u2019: Messi left empty-handed as \u2018shocked\u2019 star completes incredible trilogy<\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n It caps off a tournament in which the 27-year old overtook Messi to become the World Cup\u2019s greatest ever goal-scorer with 22, just weeks after the 39-year old champion himself passed Miroslav Klose\u2019s mark of 16.<\/p>\n Mbappe scored twice in France\u2019s thrilling 4-6 loss to England in the bronze medal match, adding to goals against Morocco and Paraguay and braces against Senegal, Iraq and Sweden.<\/p>\n It left Messi needing to score twice in the final to match the Frenchman\u2019s tally, while due to the award\u2019s rules, he would have required one further assist to be the outright winner, with the pair tied with four apiece.<\/p>\n It calls into question the validity of the final tally with the third-place playoff featuring rotation players and not contested at the same intensity as other matches during the tournament.<\/p>\n Among the critics was former Team USA striker Taylor Twellman, who wrote on X that the bronze medal match was the equivalent of an \u201cAll Star Game\u201d.<\/p>\n Seven Nation World Cup half time show | 01:31<\/p>\n The match hasn\u2019t featured fewer than two goals since the 1974 World Cup, with the football world turning its back on the traditional event.<\/p>\n However, FIFA have resisted calls to scrap the fixture, as it prevents days without a single match between the semi-finals and final.<\/p>\n Similar to Mbappe, French striker Just Fontaine\u2019s 1958 World Cup Golden Boot also featured plenty of help from the tournament\u2019s most meaningless match.<\/p>\n Fontaine scored a World Cup record 13 goals at the event – but four came in a 6-3 bronze medal match win over West Germanty.<\/p>\n Speaking before the match, England coach Thomas Tuchel was scathing.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of our players and none of the French players want to play this match,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey want to play the final. We gave everything to achieve that. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but that\u2019s how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n