Real Madrid star remains in Golden Boot race despite France heartbreak against Spain

Real Madrid star remains in Golden Boot race despite France heartbreak against Spain Only one Real Madrid player was able to make his place in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2026, i.e., the newly signed fullback Marc Cucurella. His Spain side beat France in the semi-final to qualify for the final, and in the process, eliminated three other Merengue players, i.e., Ibrahima Konate, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Kylian Mbappe. This elimination must have been particularly painful for Mbappe , as he was the clear leader and face of the French team, and was aiming to win his second World Cup. Furthermore, he was also competing for the Golden Boot in this edition of the tournament. As things stand, with eight goals, he is tied with the Argentine star Lionel Messi, who made his way to the final after beating England in the other semi-final, as the player with the highest number of goals in this competition. Despite his team’s defeat in the semi-final, the Real Madrid forward will still have the chance to add to his tally, as MARCA notes that he is yet to play one more game in the World Cup, the third-place match against England. Although ambitious teams generally do not give a lot of importance to this game, this match could still be crucial for Mbappe’s hunt for the Golden Boot. While being tied with Messi in the number of goals, he is behind the Argentine in the second tie breaker, i.e., assists, as the Argentine has four assists to his name as compared to the Frenchman’s three. If the Merengue star is able to tie the number of assists as well, he would have the advantage in the third tie-breaker, i.e., the number of minutes played, as he has played 609 minutes in this competition as compared to the Inter Miami forward’s 620. Thus, despite losing out in the semi-final, Kylian Mbappe still has something to fight for in this tournament, and Real Madrid fans will be rooting for him to beat Lionel Messi to the Golden Boot once again.