France’s Kylian Mbappe Scores 19th Career World Cup Goal, 1 Behind Messi

Philadelphia: France’s Kylian Mbappe scored the 19th World Cup goal of his career, finding the net in the penalty kick against Paraguay in the round of 16 on Saturday, placing him among the record holder, Argentinian Lionel Messi.

Mbappe stuttered to score his 19th goal in 19 World Cup matches and broke the goalless tie by beating Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill in the 70th minute. Mbappe was penalized for tripping Diego Gomez following video review.

It was Mbappe’s seventh goal of this tournament, leaving Messi behind in the Golden Boot race for the World Cup’s top scorer. Mbappe won this award in Qatar four years ago, but Messi and Argentina beat France in the final.

Messi scored the 20th World Cup goal of his career in Argentina’s 3-2 win over Cape Verde on Friday night. The 39-year-old star also broke the record by scoring goals in eight consecutive World Cup matches.

In the Golden Shoe race, Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane are in second place with five goals each.

In the event of a tie in the Golden Boot rankings at the conclusion of the tournament, FIFA will use assists as the first tiebreaker and the fewest minutes played as the second tiebreaker. Mbappe beat Messi 2-0 in assists.