Four years ago in Qatar, Lionel Messi walked onto the field as the greatest player never to win a World Cup. By the time the tournament ended, he no longer carried that tag. Chasing him every step of the way was a Frenchman who had already won the trophy once and wanted to go back-to-back to cement his own legacy.
That mythical final in Lusail swung on penalty kicks, and it was Messi who lifted the trophy while Kylian Mbappé had to settle for a hat-trick in the final and the Golden Boot with 8 goals.
Before that tournament, the game’s biggest individual rivalry belonged to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But Ronaldo’s repeated World Cup failures meant it was time for a new challenger to step up opposite Messi — and Mbappé did not disappoint.
Now, in 2026, the story has entered a new chapter, and it started almost in sync. Messi opened the tournament with a dazzling hat-trick against Algeria; few hours after Mbappé struck twice against Senegal.
They have barely let up since. Both men enter the last 16 with 7 goals apiece, and both teams are now considered among the tournament’s genuine favourites — meaning the possibility of a straight repeat of the 2022 final is very much alive.
The individual race has become just as gripping as the team one. Messi became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer during this tournament, moving past Miroslav Klose’s long-standing mark, and has now scored an incredible 20 career World Cup goals. Mbappé sits one behind on 19, needing just one more to draw level with the Argentine great.
Mbappé got to 19 with his 19th goal in 19 World Cup appearances, converting a penalty in the Round of 16 against Paraguay to send France through 1-0.
“I’ve said from the first day that he had the spirit. He gave all the athletic efforts,” France coach Didier Deschamps said after Les Bleus’ win. “He’s a great top-notch player on the pitch. But when he speaks, he speaks for the entire group.”
That goal was Mbappé’s seventh of this tournament, pulling him level with Messi in the Golden Boot race.
Mbappé won that award in Qatar four years ago, but it was Messi and Argentina who won the trophy that actually mattered. Mbappé is now the only player in history to score at least three goals in the knockout stage of three separate World Cups, and with a World Cup–record 10 knockout-stage goals to his name, his case for the all-time scoring crown keeps strengthening.
Messi, for his part, has been just as relentless. His 20th career World Cup goal came in a dramatic, extra-time 3-2 win over Cape Verde, a match that needed a 111th-minute own goal to separate the sides.
At 39, Messi now has goals in a record eight consecutive World Cup appearances, has scored in five straight knockout-stage matches, and has been directly involved in 10 goals across his last six knockout appearances for Argentina. That win also set up a Round of 16 clash for Argentina against Egypt, who advanced on penalties past Australia.
Should the two men finish level in goals when the tournament ends, FIFA’s tiebreakers come into play: assists first, then fewest minutes played. On that count, Mbappé currently holds a 2-0 edge over Messi in assists — meaning that, for now, even a shared goal tally would still leave Mbappé narrowly ahead in the race for the Golden Boot.
