Kylian Mbappe makes Lionel Messi goal prediction as France superstar reacts to taking all-time record from Argentine GOAT

Mbappe has no doubt that Messi will score for Argentina against Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final to reclaim his record as the competition’s most prolific player ever. France’s captain claimed that remarkable record for himself on Saturday with a brace against England in a mad-cap third-place playoff.

Messi can boast 21 on soccer’s grandest stage but still has one more match to edge his way back into top spot. "Leo, he scores all the time. Tomorrow he will score, for sure,” Mbappe told Fox Sports.

Yet for Mbappe, what should have been a savory moment of history left a bitter taste in the mouth. The impending threat of Messi superseding his position atop the leading scorer charts was just one factor dragging down Mbappe’s mood, as Les Bleus fell to a chaotic 6-4 defeat at the hands of the Three Lions.

“I just try to help my team every time,” he shrugged when discussing his personal achievement amidst the team's collective failure. “It’s certain that when you score so many goals in the World Cup, it elevates you to certain levels. But I would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history and play the match tomorrow [the final]."

Despite holding the all-time lead, the race for the 2026 Golden Boot remains tantalisingly poised as the tournament enters its final day. Mbappe currently leads the current standings with 10 goals, which is two more than Messi. However, the 39-year-old Argentina captain still has the opportunity to respond in the final. If Messi fails to produce a match-winning haul in the final, Mbappe will become the first player in history to win the World Cup Golden Boot on two separate occasions. The Frenchman's scoring rate is virtually unprecedented in the modern era, as he joins an elite group of only eight players including Just Fontaine, Eusebio, and Ronaldo to have scored eight or more goals in a single tournament.

The mood in the French camp was further soured by a defensive collapse against England that left midfielder Adrien Rabiot absolutely furious. The AC Milan star did not hold back in his assessment of the team's first-half display, which saw them fall into a 4-0 hole. Rabiot described the performance as "unacceptable" and "shameful," suggesting that some of his teammates had lacked the necessary professionalism for a bronze-medal match.

“We started the first half in a pretty shameful manner,” Rabiot told beIN Sports. “I saw behavior from certain players that I had never seen before. It’s a bit disappointing, because this was the last match to make a good impression in the tournament. There was a lot of disappointment after the loss to Spain, but there was still a job to finish, and we can’t just slack off like that."