Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (10 years old) celebrates his team’s victory at the end of the World Cup Round of 16 match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Kylian Mbappe continued his relentless pursuit of football history by scoring the winner as France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, moving one goal clear of Lionel Messi’s all-time World Cup record, while leveling with the Argentine in the race for this year’s Golden Boot.The France captain calmly scored a second-half penalty in Philadelphia to send Didier Deschamps’ side into the quarter-finals, where they will face Morocco in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semi-finals. The blow was significant beyond the result itself. It was Mbappe’s seventh goal of the 2026 tournament, the 19th goal of his World Cup career, and another addition to a growing collection of records that still places him among the greatest players in the competition’s history.
Mbappe is close to Messi’s record in World Cup finals
The decisive moment for France arrived in the 70th minute after Diego Gomez was adjudged to have obstructed a French striker following a VAR review.Mbappe drove forward from 12 yards and curled a curling shot before Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gil was sent the wrong way. The penalty kick settled a tense round of 16 match and carried enormous historical significance.The goal took Mbappé to 19 World Cup goals in just 19 appearances, leaving him just one behind Lionel Messi, who became the tournament’s all-time top scorer with his 20th World Cup goal during Argentina’s 3-2 Round of 16 win over Cape Verde less than 24 hours earlier.
Frenchman Kylian Mbappe scores the opening goal from a penalty kick against Paraguay during the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The contrast between the two stages is equally striking. Messi has reached 20 goals in 29 World Cup appearances, while 28-year-old Mbappe has scored 19 goals from just 19 matches and remains at the top of his career.
Level up in the Golden Boot race after another crucial knockout goal
The penalty also dramatically changed the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot.Mbappe now has seven goals in the 2026 World Cup, level with Messi at the top of the scoring charts after the Argentina captain briefly took over the top spot.If both players finish the tournament tied on goals, FIFA’s tie-breaking criteria currently favor the French captain, with assists ranked ahead of minutes played. Mbappé leads this category with two assists, while Messi made one after Argentina’s victory over Cape Verde. However, Messi’s tally has been the subject of some statistical review. He was initially thought to have finished that match with one goal and one assist (his first in the 2026 tournament), but the official match report later changed the record.
In extra time, Messi sent in a corner kick that led to a 3-2 victory for Argentina, and was initially credited as an assist after Cristian “Cote” Romero celebrated the goal. However, FIFA later ruled it to be an own goal by Borges, removing the assist from Messi’s record.
This means that if the tournament ended today with both players tied on seven goals, Mbappe would receive the Golden Boot.But the race is still wide open to reach the quarter-finals.
Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and England captain Harry Kane remain in contention with five goals each, while French winger Ousmane Dembélé has quietly risen to four goals and two assists, giving France several contenders near the top of the leaderboard.Current standings for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot
- Kylian Mbappe (France): 7 goals, 2 assists
- Lionel Messi (Argentina): 7 goals and 1 assist
- Harry Kane (England): 5 goals
- Erling Haaland (Norway): 5 goals
- Ousmane Dembélé (France): 4 goals, 2 assists
The knockout specialist continues to rewrite World Cup history
Mbappe’s latest goal extended his impressive record in World Cup knockout matches.Having already become the Men’s World Cup record holder for goals in the knockout stages earlier in the tournament against Sweden, the Real Madrid striker is now equal with Messi for the most goals in World Cup knockout matches, with 12 each.Mbappe’s tally consists of nine knockout goals and three assists, which matches Messi’s overall contribution in knockout matches and confirms his reputation as one of football’s most outstanding players in big matches.His seventh goal in this tournament came after a prolific group stage in which he scored four goals before adding three more in the knockout stages, continuing the exceptional consistency that earned him the Golden Boot for the first time at the 2022 World Cup.France’s victory also keeps Mbappe’s quest for another World Cup title alive after the French team narrowly missed out on the memorable 2022 final against Argentina despite his hat-trick.
With Morocco waiting in the quarter-finals on Thursday, July 9, at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Mbappe is now just one goal away from equaling Messi’s all-time World Cup record, and holds a slim advantage in what promises to be one of the closest Golden Boot races in the tournament’s modern history.