Lionel Messi faces an uphill battle to win the World Cup Golden Boot after Kylian Mbappé extended his lead in the scoring race, but the Argentine captain remains the favourite to claim a record third Golden Ball when Argentina meet Spain in Sunday's final.

Mbappé scored twice in France's 6-4 defeat to England in Saturday's third-place playoff, taking his tournament tally to 10 goals, reports AP. 

Messi has eight goals, leaving him needing at least two goals in the final to draw level and three to move ahead.

Before the third-place match, Messi and Mbappé were tied on eight goals, with the Argentine leading on the tiebreaker thanks to one more assist.

If Messi cannot overtake Mbappé, he is still widely expected to win the Golden Ball, awarded to the tournament's best player. 

At 39, he has guided Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup final and is already the only player to have won the award twice, having claimed it in 2014 and 2022. "He is history. He is a legend," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.

The Golden Boot is the only major individual World Cup honour missing from Messi's long list of achievements, which includes a record eight Ballon d'Or awards.

Mbappé, who won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar despite France losing the final to Argentina, became the first player to score 10 goals in a single World Cup since Germany's Gerd Müller achieved the feat in 1970.

If Messi scores enough goals to surpass Mbappé and Argentina win the title, he would become the first Golden Boot winner to play for the World Cup champions since Brazil's Ronaldo in 2002.

Spain also have strong contenders for the tournament's other major individual awards.

Goalkeeper Unai Simón is among the favourites for the Golden Glove after conceding just one goal in seven matches, while 19-year-old forward Yamine Lamal is a leading candidate for the Best Young Player award, presented to the top performer aged 21 or under.

The Golden Ball, Golden Glove and Best Young Player awards are decided by media representatives from a shortlist prepared by FIFA's Technical Study Group.

MSH

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.