Kylian Mbappé passes Lionel Messi for career World Cup scoring record with 22 goals

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Kylian Mbappé made history at the World Cup on Saturday. He would have preferred a different outcome.

The France star moved past Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the career World Cup scoring record with 22 goals, scoring twice in a 6-4 loss to England in Saturday’s third-place match.

Mbappé finished this World Cup with 10 goals, two more than Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. Should he remain ahead of Messi after Argentina plays Spain in Sunday’s final, he would become the first player to win the Golden Boot twice.

“I would have preferred not to be the top scorer in history,” Mbappé told Fox Sports in French, “and play in the match tomorrow.”

Les Bleus missed out on a chance at playing in their third straight World Cup final when they lost to Spain in the semifinals.

Mbappé scored eight goals to win the Golden Boot four years ago in Qatar, where France lost to Messi and Argentina in a penalty shootout in the final.

His 10 in this year’s tournament matched the third most in a World Cup. Just Fontaine had a record 13 goals for France in 1958, Sandor Kocsis of Hungary scored 11 in 1954, and West Germany’s Gerd Müller had 10 in 1970.

Mbappé’s quest for the Golden Boot appeared to be going nowhere when France trailed 4-0 at halftime.