Golden Boot: How did Mbappé surpass Messi in the World Cup’s top scorer? By Thiago Lemos
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Kylian Mbappé, from France, reached the lead in the dispute for the World Cup’s top scorer. He scored a goal during the 2-0 victory against Morocco, a result that secured France’s place in the semi-final. With this goal, Mbappé has eight goals, the same number as Argentina’s Lionel Messi, but is ahead due to the tournament’s tiebreaker criteria.
According to the championship rules, in a situation of equality in the number of goals, the winner of the “Golden Boot”, a trophy awarded to the top scorer at the World Cup, is determined by the number of assists. Mbappé stands out in this criterion, having an advantage over Messi.
The French player contributed three decisive passes to his team’s goals, including one for Dembelé’s goal in the quarter-finals. In contrast, the Argentine athlete registered just one assist, for Cuti Romero’s goal in the round of 16. It is important to note that a ball crossed in the corner, which resulted in the third goal against Cape Verde, was not counted as an official assist, being classified as an own goal.
The World Cup regulations also establish a third factor to break ties: the total number of minutes on the field. If the equality in goals and assists persists, the award will be given to the player with the least accumulated playing time in the competition.
Currently, Mbappé has played 564 minutes, while Lionel Messi has played 465 minutes. Other attackers in contention for top scorers are Norwegian Erling Haaland, with seven goals, and Englishman Harry Kane, who has scored six goals so far.
