One of the most moving moments of the 2026 World Cup that went down in… on Sunday night (July 19) were Lionel Messi’s tears after the lost final against Spain.
The captain of Argentina—and, for many, the greatest soccer player of all time—remained impassive after the final whistle as he watched the Spaniards celebrate (Lamine Yamal rushed to hug him), when he received his silver medal along with his teammates, he sat in front of the section where the Argentine fans were gathered, who were cheering him on and thanking him for everything he had done for their national team.
At that point, Messi couldn’t… hold back any longer and burst into tears, visibly moved and certainly heartbroken over the fact that he was unable to bring Argentina another World Cup title, in his final «appearance» at the international level…
Just as in the last World Cup in Qatar, Kylian Mbappé was the tournament's top scorer in the one held in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
In fact, the final didn't end well for him, just as had happened in the Gulf state. Three and a half years ago, the then-star of Paris Saint-Germain was unable to lead France to the world title for a second consecutive time, as, although he scored three times in the final against Argentina, France lost 4–2 in a penalty shootout.
Back then, at age 24, he had scored 8 goals; now, at 28, he has raised the bar even higher with the 2 goals he scored in the «third-place match» against England, finishing the tournament with 10 goals. The Real Madrid star also won the tournament’s top scorer award, edging out Lionel Messi, who finished the 2026 World Cup with 8 goals.
In fact, Mbappé has now scored a total of 22 goals in his World Cup finals appearances, surpassing Lionel Messi, who remained at 21 since he did not score in the final against Spain.
The captain of the French national team had an impressive run in the 2026 tournament. In total, he has scored four goals in the 2018 World Cup, eight in the 2022 tournament, and ten goals in this year’s tournament on the fields of the U.S./Mexico/Canada, demonstrating his consistency at the world’s premier soccer tournament.
