FIFA World Cup 2026: 'I would've chosen the final over records,' says Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe made history at the World Cup on Saturday He would have preferred a different outcomeThe France star moved past Argentinarsquos Lionel Messi for the career World Cup scoring record with 22 goals scoring twice in a 46 loss to England in a thirdplace matchMbappe finished this World Cup with 10 goals two more than Messi in the race for the Golden Boot which is awarded to the tournamentrsquos top scorer ldquoWhen you score a lot of goals in the World Cup it makes you evolve in certain spheres I would have liked not to have been the top scorer in history and played the finalrdquo Mbappe saidldquoItrsquos good for everything that is heritage but itrsquos not the first thing that crosses my mindrdquo he addedMbappe scored eight goals to win the Golden Boot four years ago in Qatar where France lost to Argentina in a penalty shootout in the finalHis 10 in this yearrsquos tournament matched the third most in a World Cup Just Fontaine had a record 13 goals for France in 1958 Sandor Kocsis of Hungary scored 11 in 1954 and West Germanyrsquos Gerd Muller had 10 in 1970Mbappersquos quest for the Golden Boot appeared to be going nowhere when France trailed 40 at halftime Then Mbappe and France came alive in the second half He flicked a shot past England goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the 48th minute to begin a rally for Les Bleus who also got goals from Bradley Barcola and Ousmane DembeleMichael Olise added two assists setting a record with seven in this World Cup one more than Brazilrsquos Pele who had six assists in 1970 France pulled within 43 on Mbappersquos second goal when he beat Henderson again with a leftfooted strike from about 14 yards in the 66th minute to pass Messirsquos career mark of 21 goalsFiveNo of goals scored by Mbappe from Michael Olisersquos assists in the ongoing World Cup mdash the most goals resulting from one playerrsquos assist to another in a single edition in the last 60 years14No of goals scored by Mbappe outside the group stage in World Cup history mdash the most by any playerThreeNo of World Cups Kylian Mbappe took to reach a record 22 goals mdash compared to six World Cups for Lionel Messi the only other player to score 20plus World Cup goals 21FourKylian Mbappe is the fourth player to score 10 or more goals in a single World Cup edition after Sandor Kocsis 11 goals in 1954 Just Fontaine 13 in 1958 and Gerd Muller 10 in 1970TenNo of goals scored by Kylian Mbappe in the ongoing World Cup mdash the first player to hit the doubledigit mark in a single edition since West Germanyrsquos Gerd Muller 10 in 197014No of goal contributions 10 goals four assists by Mbappe in the ongoing FIFA World Cup mdash the most by any player in a single edition since West Germanyrsquos Gerd Muller 13 goal contributions 10 goals three assists in 1970This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever