French superstar Kylian Mbappé became the first player to win multiple FIFA World Cup Golden Boot awards after Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the final on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Mbappé finished with 10 goals in the tournament after scoring twice in France’s 6-4 loss to England on Saturday in the third-place match.
His only competition still active was Lionel Messi, who was seeking his first Golden Boot as he attempted to lead Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup. Messi and Argentina defeated Mbappé and France on penalties in the Qatar 2022 final.
But Argentina was unable to get a shot on goal against Spain’s stalwart defense and only had two shots in total, both late in the match. Messi was left goalless for the third consecutive game. He had scored eight goals in the three group stage matches, the round of 32 and the round of 16.
At 27 years old, Mbappé can already be considered the top scorer in World Cup history. His two second-half goals on Saturday saw him surpass Messi for the tournament’s all-time record with 22 in just 22 games. Messi, the first to break German Miroslav Klose’s career record at the start of the tournament before Mbappe caught up with him, remained at 21 and could have played his last World Cup game on Sunday at age 39.
Eight of Mbappé’s 10 goals this summer came in brackets. He scored two goals against Iraq, Senegal, Sweden and finally England. He was the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup since Gerd Müller of Germany in 1970.
Apart from Mbappé, it was no surprise that the rest of the awards went to Spanish players after their remarkable run to their country’s second world title.
Spanish midfielder Rodri collected the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded to the best overall player in the tournament. While he did not record a single goal or assist in Spain’s eight matches, he completed more passes, covered more distance and involved more players than any other player in this year’s tournament.
He also played a key role in greatly limiting Messi’s touches during Spain’s 1-0 victory.
Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón and defender Pau Cubarsi were awarded the Golden Glove and the FIFA Best Young Player award, respectively. Each of the two played a pivotal role for La Roja, conceding just one goal (a record for a World Cup-winning team) and allowing just 10 shots on goal in eight games during this World Cup.
Simon finished with seven clean sheets, two more than the previous record for a single World Cup. The 29-year-old’s nine clean sheets in World Cups are one shy of the record of 10 shared by former France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
These three awards are decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group, made up of former professional players, coaches and analysts.
