French superstar Kylian Mbappe became the first player to win multiple FIFA World Cup Golden Boots after Spain blanked Argentina 1-0 in the final on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Mbappe finished with 10 goals for the tournament after scoring twice in France’s 6-4 loss to England on Saturday in the third-place match.
His only remaining active opponent was Lionel Messi, who was seeking his first Golden Boot while trying to guide Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup. Messi and Argentina beat Mbappé and France on penalties in the 2022 final in Qatar.
But Argentina failed to muster a shot on target against Spain’s strong defense and managed only two shots in total, both late in the match. Messi remained scoreless for the third consecutive match. He scored eight goals in the three matches of the group stage, the round of 16 and the round of 16.
At 27, Mbappé can already consider himself the greatest scorer in World Cup history. His two second-half goals on Saturday pushed him past Messi for the tournament’s all-time record with 22 in just 22 matches. Messi – the first to break German Miroslav Klose’s career record early in the tournament before Mbappe caught him – remained at 21 and may have played his final World Cup match on Sunday at 39.
Eight of Mbappé’s 10 goals this summer have come with doubles. He scored twice against Iraq, Senegal, Sweden and finally England. He is the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup since Germany’s Gerd Müller in 1970.
Aside from Mbappé, it’s no surprise that the rest of the awards went to Spanish players after their remarkable run to the country’s second World Cup title.
Spanish midfielder Rodri received the Ballon d’Or, awarded to the best player of the tournament. Although he didn’t score 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 heavily limiting Messi’s touches in Spain’s 1-0 win.
Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon and defender Pau Cubarsi have been named winners of the Golden Glove Award and FIFA Best Young Player Award, respectively. The pair each played a vital role in La Roja conceding just one goal – a record for a World Cup-winning team – and allowing just 10 shots on target in eight matches 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 career World Cup clean sheets are one shy of the record of 10 shared by former France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and former England keeper Peter Shilton.
These three awards are decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group, made up of former professional players, coaches and analysts.
