Mbappé once again singled out Messi: respect that goes beyond the Golden Boot race
Kylian Mbappé has once again placed Lionel Messi at the center of the football debate, but not as an opponent to be surpassed at any cost, rather as a benchmark of the highest class. The French captain said ahead of the continuation of the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup that Messi is the best player in the world, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, while emphasizing that he is more interested in the success of the national team than in individual records. According to GOAL's report, Mbappé told the media conference that the debate about the best players is good for the public and journalists, but that at this moment he is thinking above all about France's next task against Iraq.
The statement resonated because it comes during a period in which Mbappé and Messi once again find themselves in the same major story. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, they played one of the most memorable finals of the modern era: Argentina won the title after penalties, Messi finally lifted the trophy that had eluded him, and Mbappé won the tournament's Golden Boot with eight goals. Four years later, their sporting parallel continued in North America, now through the battle for the top of the goalscoring chart and through a race with World Cup history.
Messi's start to the tournament further strengthened the symbolism of Mbappé's statement. According to FIFA's match report, Argentina opened its title defense with a 3:0 victory against Algeria, and Messi scored all three goals. It was his first hat-trick in a World Cup match, a result that brought the 38-year-old Argentine captain to a total of 16 goals at World Cups. According to FIFA data and ESPN statistical overviews, that put him level with Miroslav Klose at the top of the tournament's all-time goalscorers list.
Messi's hat-trick changed the tone of Argentina's start
Against Algeria in Kansas City, Argentina got exactly what a defending champion looks for in the first match of a major tournament: a result that calms the team, a performance that confirms quality, and a leader who immediately takes responsibility. FIFA stated in its report that Messi's hat-trick delivered a 3:0 victory and drew him level with the highest mark in the history of World Cup goalscoring records. That achievement was especially important because it came in his sixth appearance at World Cups, at a stage of his career in which every major performance is also interpreted as a possible farewell frame from the biggest national-team stage.
According to the available match reports, the Argentine team controlled the key parts of the encounter, and Messi punished the gaps left to him by the Algerian defense. The performance did not have only result-based value, but immediately placed Argentina in a strong position in Group J, which also includes Austria and Jordan. FIFA's overview of teams and fixtures shows that after the win over Algeria, Argentina plays Austria on June 22, 2026, while Algeria seeks a chance to recover against Jordan the following day.
For Messi, that entry into the tournament carried additional weight because it was not just about another goal or another statistical category. After the 2022 title, each of his appearances on the world stage is measured through the question of whether Argentina can maintain the level of a champion team, but also through the broader story of a player who, even in his late thirties, remains among the most influential at the tournament. The hat-trick against Algeria was therefore not an isolated moment of nostalgia, but a sporting argument that Messi can still directly decide matches of the highest competitive value.
Mbappé is simultaneously chasing wins, the Golden Boot and a historic record
Mbappé also entered his own tournament strongly. According to FIFA's report from the France-Senegal match, France won 3:1, and Mbappé scored two goals, in the 66th minute and in stoppage time. With the same performance, according to FIFA, he reached 58 goals for the French national team and became its all-time leading scorer. ESPN stated in that day's statistical overview that Mbappé, with 14 goals at World Cups, continued his climb toward the top of the historic list, where Ronaldo Nazário with 15 and Messi and Klose with 16 goals are ahead of him.
That number explains why every Mbappé statement about Messi is more than a compliment. The Frenchman is not speaking only about a player he admires, but also about a direct rival in two separate yet connected races: for the Golden Boot of the current tournament and for the status of the greatest goalscorer in World Cup history. In that dynamic, it is especially interesting that Mbappé did not try to reshape the conversation in his own favor. According to GOAL, he said that he knew Messi would score because Messi "always scores", but added that winning the World Cup is the most important thing for him.
Such a tone is not accidental. Mbappé already won the World Cup with France in 2018, played in the 2022 final and took the Golden Boot at that same tournament. His national-team career is therefore not viewed through the question of whether he belongs at the top, but through the question of how high he can finish in the historical order. At an age when he still has realistic space for at least several major competitions, every World Cup goal brings him closer to records that until recently seemed unreachable.
The Golden Boot is no longer just a duel between the two biggest protagonists
Although attention is naturally drawn to the relationship between Messi and Mbappé, the race for the 2026 Golden Boot is not closed between the two of them. According to updates from international media following the goalscorers' standings, after the first days of the tournament other forwards are also near the top, including Deniz Undav, Jonathan David, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland. This matters because in the expanded World Cup format, with 48 national teams and 104 matches, more room opens up for a major individual performance, but also for sudden jumps in the standings.
The rules for the Golden Boot further complicate the table. According to explanations of the award criteria reported by international sources, the primary criterion remains the number of goals, but in the event of a tie, assists decide, followed by fewer minutes played. Because of that, a player with the same number of goals can be ahead of another if he has directly set up a goal more often or achieved the same output in less time on the pitch. In the early stage of the tournament, such nuances often change the standings from day to day, especially while national teams have not yet played the same number of matches.
Messi, with his hat-trick against Algeria, immediately set a high starting point, while Mbappé, with two goals against Senegal, maintained the rhythm that already led him to the top scorer award in 2022. But the current context should not be reduced to a personal showdown. For both of them, it is clear that individual awards gain additional value only if they are accompanied by deep tournament results. That applies especially to Argentina as the defending champion and to France, a team that played the final in the last two editions of the World Cup.
Respect built through shared years and the biggest matches
Mbappé's respect for Messi also has a personal background. The two forwards played together at Paris Saint-Germain, where they shared the dressing room with Neymar and were part of one of the most followed club attacking lines in Europe. Although PSG did not win the Champions League during that period, their shared seasons gave Mbappé direct insight into Messi's everyday professional rhythm, technical level and the way he influences play beyond his actual output in the final phase.
Their relationship was further marked by the 2022 World Cup final, a match that entered the canon of modern football. Messi led Argentina to the title, while Mbappé, with a hat-trick in the final and precision in the shootout, did everything to keep France in the game. That is precisely why their new comparison in 2026 does not feel like an artificially produced rivalry, but like a continuation of a story that already has sporting, emotional and historical continuity.
According to GOAL's report, Mbappé also mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo alongside Messi, stressing that the two of them remain standout names of the football era. Such wording shows that the French captain does not view the debate only through current form, but through the broader influence that Messi and Ronaldo have had on professional football for more than two decades. In that sense, his statement is not a reduction of his own ambition, but an acknowledgment of the level of standards he is trying to reach and surpass.
France and Argentina have different challenges in the continuation of the group stage
The sporting value of Mbappé's statement becomes clearer when the schedule is considered. According to FIFA's schedule and team overview, France plays Iraq after its win over Senegal, while in the same group Norway and Senegal continue their fight for points. France had a demanding start against Senegal, but through quality in the final phase and Mbappé's efficiency, it reached a victory that reduces pressure before the second match. Still, in a format in which groups unfold quickly, every lost match can change the path toward the knockout stage.
Argentina opened the tournament convincingly in Group J, but the match against Austria carries a different profile of challenge. Austria, according to FIFA's team overview, beat Jordan 3:1 in its first appearance, so the duel with Argentina cannot be viewed as merely another step for the defending champion. For Lionel Scaloni's team, it is an opportunity to confirm control over the group, and for Messi a new chance to deepen the gap in the scorers' race and possibly take the top of the all-time World Cup goals list on his own.
Within that schedule lies the reason why Mbappé, at least publicly, refuses to turn the race with Messi into the main focus. The World Cup remains a tournament of short gaps between matches, changing conditions and sudden tactical adjustments. The pressure of individual records can be an incentive, but it can also become a burden if the team loses balance. France therefore needs Mbappé's goals, but even more it needs his ability to read matches in line with the team's needs.
A great individual story in the biggest World Cup format
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first edition with 48 national teams, and the tournament is played in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America. According to FIFA's official pages, the competition includes 104 matches in 16 host cities, which means that the best goalscorers may have more opportunities than in previous formats. That does not diminish the weight of records, but it changes the rhythm of the race because a potential finalist's path extends over a larger number of matches.
For Messi, Mbappé and those chasing them, that structure means the top of the table can change quickly. One hat-trick, like Messi's against Algeria, is enough for a jump among the leaders. Two opening goals, like Mbappé's against Senegal, are enough for a player to remain in immediate proximity. But a long tournament simultaneously demands physical endurance, rotation, discipline and the ability to maintain form through multiple opponents of different styles.
That is precisely why Mbappé's sentence about Messi can be read on two levels. On the first, it is an expression of respect for a player who has marked football history and who, according to FIFA data, is still breaking records at the biggest competition. On the second, it is Mbappé's own message that he knows where he stands in the football hierarchy and what standards await him. In that combination of respect and competitive calm lies the reason why their parallel race in 2026 is already standing out as one of the main stories of the tournament.
Sources:
- FIFA - report and summary of the Argentina-Algeria match at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA - report and summary of the France-Senegal match at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA - official overview of national teams, groups, results and upcoming matches at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA - official schedule, results, host cities and format of the 2026 World Cup (link)
- GOAL - report on Mbappé's statements about Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, individual records and France's focus on the match with Iraq (link)
- ESPN - statistical overview of the records of Messi, Mbappé and other players after the matches on June 17, 2026 (link)
- The Guardian - overview of the race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot and the criteria for resolving ties (link)