07/19/26 01:36:00
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07/19 01:00 CDT Messi has work to catch Mbapp for the Golden Boot. A 3rd
Golden Ball is in reach in World Cup final
Messi has work to catch Mbapp for the Golden Boot. A 3rd Golden Ball is in
reach in World Cup final
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
Lionel Messi has quite a climb to catch Kylian Mbapp for the Golden Boot.
The Argentina superstar has won just about everything in soccer except for the
award for being the leading scorer at the World Cup, and he's now two behind
Mbapp after the France striker upped his total to 10 goals in a wild
third-place game.
Even if Messi can't get there, a record-extending third Golden Ball as the
tournament's best player seems well in reach after Sunday's World Cup final
against Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
He's already the only player to win the award multiple times since it was first
given in 1978, and sparking Argentina's run to a second straight final at age
39 gives him a strong case for another.
"He is the history. He is the legend," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.
The other awards to be presented Sunday for performances at the World Cup are
the Golden Glove for the top goalkeeper, and the Best Young Player Award, given
to the top player 21 years old or younger.
Spain is in good shape to win at least one if not both of those, with Unai
Simn allowing only one goal in seven games and 19-year-old Yamine Lamal
providing the dazzle up front and showing why he is already considered one of
the most promising players in the world.
Messi is at the other end of a career in which he's won the Ballon d'Or, given
to soccer's player of the year, a record eight times.
The Golden Boot has eluded him, but he had the lead going into the final two
matches of this year's tournament. Both Messi and Mbapp had eight goals
through the semifinals, but Messi owned the tiebreaker with one more assist.
Mbapp then scored twice Saturday in France's 6-4 loss to England, making him
the first player with 10 goals in a World Cup since Germany great Gerd Mller
had 10 in 1970.
Mbapp also won the Golden Boot four years ago in Qatar, when France lost to
Argentina in the final. This time, he could join players such as Italy's
Salvatore Schillaci in 1990, Croatia's Davor Suker in 1998 and Germany's Thomas
Mller in 2010 as players whose goals in a third-place game carried them to the
Golden Boot.
Should Messi beat out Mbapp in an Argentina victory, he would be the first
Golden Boot winner to play for the champion since Ronaldo scored eight goals
when Brazil won the title in 2002.
He may not need any goals to secure another Golden Ball.
Messi won that trophy for the first time in 2014, when Argentina was the
runner-up, and again in 2022 when his seven goals in seven games powered his
country to its third title.
The Golden Ball, Golden Glove and the Best Young Player Award are voted on by
members of the media from a list of players compiled by the FIFA Technical
Study Group.
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See more of AP's World Cup coverage here
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