Mbappe holds the Golden Boot lead, but Messi is not done yet
Kylian Mbappe's World Cup is over, but his eight goals may yet win him the Golden Boot. France's exit to Spain in Tuesday's semi-final, a 2-0 defeat in Dallas, per Sky Sports, means the forward's tally is now fixed. Whether it proves enough depends on what Lionel Messi does next.
Mbappe reached eight with his goal in the quarter-final win over Morocco, moving level with Messi at the top of the adidas Golden Boot standings, according to Fox Sports. The pair cannot be separated on goals, so the tiebreaker matters: FIFA go to assists first, and Mbappe's superior assist count nudged him ahead, Fox Sports reports.
That is where it gets interesting. Messi is still playing. Argentina face England in the second semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday, per Al Jazeera, which gives the 39-year-old at least one more match, and possibly a final, to add to his total. One goal would take him clear. Mbappe, watching from home, can do nothing but hope.
The rest of the chasing pack has largely run out of road. Erling Haaland finished on seven after Norway's quarter-final exit to England, his brace against Brazil earlier in the knockouts among the better goals of the tournament, according to the Fox Sports tracker. Like Mbappe, he is now a spectator.
That leaves the England pair as the only realistic threats still standing. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham sit on six apiece, Al Jazeera reports, two behind the leaders with a semi-final, and perhaps a final, to come. Kane front-loaded his tally in the group stage; Bellingham has timed his run for the knockouts. Either could yet surge.
The maths is simple enough. Messi needs one goal to lead outright. Kane or Bellingham would need three to reach eight, and more still to overhaul Mbappe on the tiebreakers, though a deep England run would give them the minutes to try. FIFA's rules spell out the order: most goals, then most assists, then fewest minutes played, per Fox Sports. Every touch counts.
It has been a gloriously open race. Messi and Mbappe tied on eight with two rounds still to play makes this one of the highest-scoring Golden Boot contests the tournament has seen, according to Fox Sports. For once the storyline and the scoreline have kept pace with each other.
There is a neat symmetry to it, too. Messi and Mbappe shared the stage in the 2022 final in Qatar, when Mbappe's hat-trick could not stop Argentina lifting the trophy. Four years on, one has gone out in the last four while the other plays on. If Messi adds to his total against England, the Golden Boot would be his to lose. If he draws a blank and Argentina fall, Mbappe's eight might just hold.
For England, the sub-plot is a welcome one. A Kane or Bellingham scoring spree would mean England are winning, and winning is the only thing Tuchel's side will care about in Atlanta. The individual prize is a bonus, not the point.
Nothing is settled. The final is at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, according to Sky Sports, and until the last whistle there the Golden Boot stays open. Mbappe leads for now. Messi, and two Englishmen, still have a say.
No comments yet