Kylian Mbappe walked off in Miami Gardens with a medal he did not want and a prize he might yet keep. His two goals in France's 6-4 defeat to England in the third-place play-off took him to 10 for the tournament, per FIFA, and pushed him clear at the top of the Golden Boot race. Small consolation on an afternoon France would rather forget. But a consolation all the same.
France finished fourth. The bronze went to England, who led 4-0 at the break and clung on through a chaotic second half. Mbappe's brace was the heartbeat of the fightback that briefly turned a rout into a contest.
Two goals, a fightback, a farewell
The first came early. Three minutes after the restart Mbappe pulled one back, 4-1, and France had a pulse. Bradley Barcola made it 4-2 on 54 minutes. Then Mbappe again, on 66, and at 4-3 the whole stadium braced for a comeback.
It never arrived. Bukayo Saka's penalty on 87 completed his hat-trick and restored the two-goal cushion, Ousmane Dembele struck deep in stoppage time for 5-4, and Jude Bellingham had the last word on 90+8. France poured men forward and lost anyway, per ESPN's report.
The defeat also closed a chapter. It was Didier Deschamps' final match in charge of France, per Al Jazeera, and it ended in a scoreline he will want to forget. His last France side conceded six.
For Mbappe, though, the numbers moved his way. He started the day on eight. He ended it on 10, two clear of the man chasing him. In a match his side lost, the individual prize edged closer.
What Messi needs tonight
That man is Lionel Messi, second on eight, with one game left: the final against Spain at MetLife Stadium, kick-off at 15:00 ET.
The ask is simple to state and hard to meet. One goal will not do it; that leaves Messi on nine, still short. He needs two. Score twice and he draws level on 10, and the tiebreaker is his, because Messi leads on assists, four to Mbappe's three, so a 10-10 finish hands him the Golden Boot. Score three and he wins it outright. Simple to write. Much harder to deliver in a World Cup final.
There is a neat symmetry to it. For a decade the two have traded records and trophies, and now the tournament's final act pits one against a number the other has already banked. Mbappe cannot add to his 10. Messi can only chase it.
It is an odd spot for Mbappe. His tournament is done, his total locked. He can only watch and hope the best player of his generation does not conjure two in the biggest game of the lot.
The rest have drifted out of range. Erling Haaland finished on seven, eliminated a while back. Bellingham's late goal nudged him to seven as well. Harry Kane, quiet in Miami, stayed on six, level with Dembele.
The final settles it
So it narrows to two names. Mbappe, medal in hand and his total set, and Messi, 90 minutes and two goals from stealing the individual crown at the death.
Everything now points to MetLife. Argentina against Spain decides the World Cup, and the Golden Boot rides along with it. If Messi finds the two goals he needs, the prize changes hands one last time. If he does not, it stays with Mbappe, won on a day France would sooner forget.
Sources
- ESPN
- FIFA
- Al Jazeera
- Cover photo: Russian Presidential Press and Information Office / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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