Mbappe scored both goals in the second half of the third-place match, lifting his career tally. Chosun Ilbo reported he passed Messi to become the all-time top scorer at the tournament and moved close to the first back-to-back Golden Boot.

The Golden Boot goes to the tournament's top scorer. No player has won it in consecutive editions, so Mbappe's mark is seen as a rare achievement in World Cup history.

France, however, lost the third-place match to England and finished fourth. Dazzling individual scoring and team results diverged, and Mbappe himself signaled he prioritized team victory.

The scoring race was a talking point throughout. Amid a contest of stars in a generational transition, Mbappe's steady output was the core of France's attack.

Sinophone Bridge Times notes that individual records and team results do not always move together. The regret behind dazzling numbers reminds us again that sport holds both personal narrative and collective outcome.