Kylian Mbappé was second in the Golden Boot race with four goals, leaving France’s undisputed main man one step behind Lionel Messi as the tournament scoring chase tightened. Messi led with six goals in three games, and Mbappé’s place in the standings now sits at the center of the latest World Cup conversation.
That is why Mbappé age is being searched now: the race has become a live measure of who is carrying the weight for the contenders. Mbappé was tied on four goals with Ousmane Dembélé, Erling Haaland and Vinícius Júnior, while Harry Kane had three goals in three games. The numbers make the gap clear. Messi was out in front, Mbappé was the closest pursuer, and the rest of the field sat a step back from that pace.
The comparison matters because the tournament has also been used to test how much these teams lean on their stars. Since the last World Cup, Argentina have won 83% of their games with Messi and 83% without him, even though he has been described as their inspiration. Since 2022, Messi has scored 25 goals and registered nine assists in 30 appearances for Argentina. Portugal’s numbers tell a different story, but only slightly: they have won 67% of their games with Cristiano Ronaldo and 63% without him, and the 41-year-old had two goals for Portugal during the group stage.
Ronaldo’s own totals underline how little the debate is really about one match or one run of form. Since 2022, he has scored 29 goals and registered two assists in 37 appearances for Portugal, yet the team’s results have barely shifted when he is absent. That is the friction inside the broader star-player argument: some teams look structurally dependent on their front man, while others keep winning at almost the same rate whether he is on the field or not.
For Mbappé, the immediate question is not whether he remains central to France — that part is settled — but whether four goals will be enough to keep him within striking distance as the World Cup moves on. If Messi adds to six, Mbappé will need a surge to close the gap. If he does not, the Golden Boot race may be decided by the small margin that separates second place from first.
