In the early morning of July 5 (Vietnam time), the French team won a minimal 1-0 victory over Paraguay to write their name into the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup. The only goal of the match was scored by Kylian Mbappe from a penalty in the 70th minute.
The defending runner-up faced many difficulties against Paraguay's tight defense and could only make a difference from a penalty in the second half. Mbappe did not miss the opportunity, bringing victory to the French team as well as improving his personal record at the tournament.
With this goal, the Real Madrid striker has 7 goals at the 2026 World Cup, equaling Lionel Messi's record. However, Mbappe is temporarily ranked above the Argentina captain in the top scorer list thanks to 2 assists, while Messi has not had any assists.
According to FIFA regulations, if players have the same number of goals, the first criterion for ranking is the number of assists. If they are still equal, the organizers will consider the number of minutes played to determine scoring efficiency. Only when all criteria are equal will the Top Scorer title be shared.
The goal against Paraguay also helped Mbappe increase his total number of goals in World Cups to 19, only one goal less than Messi's 20-goal record.
Meanwhile, the top scorer race still has many notable developments when Erling Haaland (Norway) and Harry Kane (England) both have 5 goals but have not played in the round of 16. Both still have the opportunity to narrow the gap with Mbappe and Messi.
The next chasing group includes Ousmane Dembele (France), Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain), Vinicius Junior (Brazil) and Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), players who have all scored 4 goals at the 2026 World Cup.
The top scorer title competition is predicted to be even more intense as teams enter the quarter-finals, where top strikers continue to have the opportunity to improve their scoring record.
