Earlier this week we reported on the individual stakes around France vs England. This one is about Kylian Mbappé, who goes into the bronze final with eight World Cup goals and a narrow path to the Golden Boot. He is tied with Lionel Messi on goals, but trails 4-3 on assists, and needs at least two goal involvements against England to keep the award race alive.
Mbappe’s position in the scoring race
The cleanest way to read the race is simple enough: Mbappe and Messi are level on eight goals, but Messi has four assists to Mbappe’s three. That leaves Mbappe needing a multi-involvement night in Miami on Saturday, while also hoping Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham do not get on the scoresheet.
He has played seven World Cup matches and scored eight times, which is a sharp return even by his standards. A 7.8 average rating across the tournament suggests this has not been a one-game burst either, although his 5.89 against Spain was his lowest recent tournament rating and came at the wrong time for his momentum.
France’s selection noise around the match
Didier Deschamps is expected to make changes for France’s bronze final clash against England, though Mbappe could still start with the Golden Boot in mind. The other selection issue sits in defence, where William Saliba requires surgery and could be out for up to five months.
Maxence Lacroix has already filled in for Saliba twice during the tournament and could do so again here. France are not short of incentive on Saturday, but Mbappe’s is the most obvious one: two goal involvements would keep him in the hunt and two goals would make him the all-time World Cup leading scorer, at least potentially for 24 hours.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
