Kylian Mbappe Wins World Cup Golden Boot Ahead Of Lionel Messi After Scoring Hat-Trick In Qatar 2022 Final

Author:
Robert Summerscales
Publish date:
Dec 18, 2022 12:44 PM EST

Kylian Mbappe has won the 2022 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot.

The 23-year-old France forward ended the tournament with eight goals in seven appearances after scoring a hat-trick in Sunday's final against Argentina.

Mbappe finished one goal clear of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who scored his sixth and seventh goals of the tournament in the game.

Argentina won the final in a penalty shootout after an epic 3-3 draw.

Messi had begun the final as the favorite to win the Golden Boot at Qatar 2022.

Mbappe and Messi had been tied on five goals before Sunday's showdown but Messi was the leader because he had provided more assists during the tournament.

But Mbappe's hat-trick in the final saw him leapfrog Messi to become only the second Frenchman ever to finish a World Cup as the top scorer.

The only other Frenchman to end a World Cup as the leading scorer was Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in six games at the 1958 tournament.