Mbappe wins historic second straight Golden Boot, Spanish captain Rodri claims Golden Ball award

Kylian Mbappe has become the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice after earning the award for top scorer at the 2026 tournament.The France forward netted 10 goals in eight games to edge out Lionel Messi in a high-quality race.Having struck eight times to finish top scorer at Qatar 2022, Mbappe has won the Golden Boot in back-to-back World Cups.The 27-year-old was the first man to reach double figures for World Cup goals since Gerd Muller for West Germany in 1970.Only Just Fontaine, who hit 13 for France in 1958, and Hungary's Sandor Kocsis with 11 in 1954, have scored more individual goals in a single tournament.Mbappe is also now the men's World Cup all-time top scorer with 22 goals - one ahead of Messi.World champions Spain swept the rest of the awards, including captain Rodri winning the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.Mbappe moved clear of Messi on Saturday with two goals in the bronze match, although he could not stop France falling to a 6-4 defeat against England and finishing fourth."When you score that many goals in the World Cup, it certainly takes you to a whole new level," he said after Saturday's match in Miami."But I would have preferred not to be the top scorer and to have played in the final. It's good for my legacy once I've retired, but right now, that's not what's on my mind."Mbappe also scored twice against Senegal and Iraq in the group stage, as well as Sweden in the last 32.He followed that with strikes against Paraguay in the last 16 - the 70th-minute winner from the penalty spot - and against Morocco in the quarter-finals.Messi could have overtaken the Real Madrid forward with a hat-trick in the World Cup final on Sunday.However, the 39-year-old could not find the net in New Jersey as his Argentina side were beaten 1-0 by Spain, and ended the competition with eight goals in as many matches.England's Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland of Norway scored seven times, while France forward Ousmane Dembele and English captain Harry Kane followed them in the list with six.Manchester City midfielder Rodri, a key figure in Spain's run to a second men's World Cup triumph, was named best player.The 30-year-old received the Golden Ball from Fifa president Gianni Infantino on the field at the MetLife Stadium following the final in New Jersey.It was the third major individual accolade of his career, having won the Ballon d'Or in 2023 and then Uefa Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament after Spain's final triumph against England two years ago.Messi won the Silver Ball as the second-best player, with Mbappe named Bronze Ball winner.Spain's Unai Simon claimed the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper after conceding just once in eight games.The Athletic Club stopper kept seven clean sheets and was only beaten by Belgium's Charles de Ketelaere in the quarter-final tie.The 29-year-old was picked ahead of Arsenal's Premier League title winner David Raya as Spain's number one, and repaid manager Luis de la Fuente's faith with a series of solid performances as they were crowned champions.Pau Cubarsi, the 19-year-old Barcelona centre-back, received the award for the tournament's best young player.He was a key figure in the Spanish defence that only conceded once all tournament and restricted Argentina to just two shots in the final with none on target.Cubarsi played every single minute for Spain as they emulated their 2010 World Cup success in South Africa.Source: BBC-Agencies