Lionel Messi fends off Kylian Mbappe and six rivals to win Sports Mole Readers' World Cup Attacker of the Tournament

Argentina legend Lionel Messi has been voted Sports Mole's 2026 World Cup Attacker of the Tournament, beating off a star-studded field led by Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappe in our Readers' Awards.

Even though the Albiceleste fell at the final hurdle against Spain, Messi once again defied age and expectation to produce a tournament worthy of his extraordinary legacy, orchestrating Argentina's charge to the final with a series of match-winning displays at 39 years of age.

The veteran forward ended the competition with eight goals and four assists, finishing only one strike behind Mbappe in the Golden Boot race, while his creative output was surpassed solely by Michael Olise, whose record-breaking campaign saw him top the assists chart.

Messi also continued to rewrite the history books throughout the knockout rounds, extending his remarkable run of scoring or assisting in nine successive World Cup knockout matches - a record unmatched since Opta began collecting such data in 1966.

Our readers were left in little doubt over who was the tournament's standout attacker, with Messi collecting 48% of the vote to comfortably take top spot.

Mbappe, whose nine-goal haul earned him the Golden Boot, finished second on 30%, while Erling Haaland completed the podium with 8% after another prolific international campaign.

Harry Kane received 4% of the vote, Spain pair Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal both picked up 3%, Michael Olise claimed 2%, and Ousmane Dembele rounded off the poll with 1%.

Although his World Cup future remains uncertain, Messi's latest exploits proved that, even in the twilight of his glittering career, he remains capable of captivating the biggest stage in football like few others ever have.