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

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Football Today

19 July 2026

The dust is beginning to settle on another dramatic

World Cup

campaign, but there are still plenty of records and farewell moments to keep an eye on.

Last night’s third-place play-off between

France

and

England

served as a fitting appetiser ahead of tonight’s showpiece.

With the stakes at an all-time high for

Argentina

Spain

, it would be unrealistic to expect anything other than a tactical chess match.

However, stranger things have happened in football. Read on as we bring yout the latest updates from North America.

Arsenal talisman

Bukayo Saka

shone in England’s consolation victory over

in the highest-scoring

fixture since 1982.

The 24-year-old winger scored his first-ever hat-trick for the national team to inspire the

Three Lions

to a stunning 6-4 win at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

Saka also became only the fourth

star to score three goals in one

match after Geoff Hurst (1966), Gary Lineker (1986) and Harry Kane (2018).

Despite failing to lift the trophy, Thomas Tuchel became the first foreign manager to win a

medal since George Raynor, who lost the 1958 final to Brazil while in charge of Sweden.

However, the former Chelsea boss had to survive another late scare to secure a podium finish, with

fighting back from a 4-0 half-time deficit to make it 4-3 heading into the last five minutes of regulation time.

Despite Les Bleus’ valiant attempt to turn the game on its head,

locked in their best

finish since winning the title on home soil in 1966, and

Jude Bellingham

helped stave off fears of another heartbreak.

Subbed on in the 79th minute, Bellingham notched up a delightful solo goal to put the final nail in France’s coffin.

With seven goals, the

Real Madrid

midfielder set a new national record for goals scored at a single

, overtaking Kane and Lineker.

France’s chances of winning another

medal seemed all but gone at half-time, only for Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise to drag

Les Bleus

back into contention with a stunning second-half display.

Mbappe entered the game as the tournament’s joint-top scorer alongside

Lionel Messi

, and he needed less than 20 minutes to put clear daylight between himself and his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate.

His quick-fire second-half double made him the first player to hit double figures at a single

since German legend Gerd Müller in 1970, taking his tournament tally to ten goals.

With 22 goals at the finals, the 27-year-old forward is now the all-time leading scorer in the competition, steering one clear of the

captain, who’ll have his last chance to return to the top later today.

Much of that was made possible by Michael Olise’s creativity.

Although the skilled winger finished his maiden

appearance without a goal, he made history with two second-half assists, eclipsing Pele’s record by taking his tournament tally to seven.

Olise also became the first player to register at least two assists in four different matches during the same

However, he was left to rue missed chances as his wastefulness denied Didier Deschamps the fairytale ending his remarkable tenure deserved.

Trump pours gasoline on fire with Infantino praise

Just as the controversy surrounding FIFA’s scandalous decision to lift Folarin Balogun’s suspension started to fade, Trump added fresh fuel to the fire by lavishing praise on Gianni Infantino.

Despite previously confirming his involvement in FIFA’s decision-making process, one of the most powerful men on earth doubled down by hailing Infantino’s role in one of the most controversial World Cups ever staged.

In another headline-grabbing media appearance, Trump described this summer’s tournament as one of the best ever, saying: “This has been a tournament like no other.

“Filled with fierce competition, unforgettable moments – probably the most unforgettable is when they gave that gentleman… Is it a red card?”

He then moved the conversation onto Balogun’s red card, explaining his unprecedented dialogue with Infantino.

“I was forced to call Gianni and just make a recommendation. I said, ‘Gianni, I’d like to make a recommendation. Let the guy in the game.’

“No, I didn’t say that. I said, ‘I’d like to make a complaint’. And actually, I didn’t, I had no idea what was going to happen, but it’s so much better the way it worked out because there’s no controversy.

“They [Belgium] won the game and our team had all of its players. You [Gianni] made another great decision if you think about it. I know you’ll never get credit. But if he [Gianni] didn’t allow him [Balogun], then the [USMNT] would say, ‘We would have won the game if we had our best players’.

“So Gianni made yet another of his many good decisions.”

No matter who wins at MetLife Stadium, Messi’s final

game will dominate the headlines.

However, fresh off a dominant semi-final win over

head into proceedings as favourites, and it’s not because of Lamine Yamal.

It’s been Mikel Oyarzabal who has emerged as La Furia Roja’s standout performer in North America, becoming just the third Spanish player to score five goals at a single

The Real Sociedad star is one goal away from becoming his country’s top scorer in one tournament, a feat that would see him surpass David Villa’s six-goal tally from the 2010 triumph.

Jude Bellingham clarifies Lionel Messi confrontation in England’s World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina

The Independent

You can pinpoint the moment Messi decided he was going to send Argentina to the World Cup final

Planet Football

France 4-6 England: Saka outshines record-breaking Mbappe in thrilling third-place play-off

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham explains heated exchange with Lionel Messi during World Cup semi-final

Get Spanish Football News

Bellingham reveals what Messi told him in heated spat as Argentina favouritism claims denied

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