Mbappe in pole position for Golden Boot despite France defeat, Trump fuels FIFA backlash

Mbappé in pole position for the Golden Boot despite France’s defeat is tied to a broader record run highlighted after the World Cup’s third-place playoff. The article describes England’s 6-4 consolation win over France at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, and identifies Bukayo Saka as the standout, scoring his first-ever World Cup hat-trick at age 24. It notes Saka joined only a small group of English players with three goals in a single World Cup match, and that the win produced England’s best World Cup finish since 1966. It then turns to Kylian Mbappé, who entered the France-England game as joint-top scorer with Lionel Messi and scored twice in the second half to reach ten goals in the tournament. The piece says Mbappé became the first player since Gerd Müller (1970) to hit double figures in a World Cup, and positions his tally at 22 goals at the finals as he maintains the Golden Boot lead. Michael Olise is also credited with two second-half assists, tying him to a new assist milestone and record setting.