Jesús Valenzuela Sáez to Officiate England-France 3rd-Place Playoff at 2026 World Cup

Q: Can Mbappé or Kane score enough goals in their final match to steal the Golden Boot from Lionel Messi?

Yes, but Mbappé has a far more realistic path than Kane. Mbappé goes into the third-place playoff level with Lionel Messi on eight goals, but Messi leads the Golden Boot race on the tiebreaker with four assists to Mbappé’s three. That means matching Messi’s final goal total is not enough unless Mbappé also overturns the assist edge, which is unlikely. In practical terms, Mbappé needs to finish the weekend with more goals than Messi. If Mbappé scores against England and Messi does not score in Sunday’s final, the French forward would move ahead. If both score the same number from here, Messi should stay in front on assists. Kane’s task is much harder. He starts on six goals and one assist, two behind Messi and Mbappé. Even if Kane scores twice to reach eight and Messi fails to score in the final, Messi would still remain ahead on the assist tiebreaker. Kane therefore likely needs at least a hat-trick to reach nine goals, and he would still need Messi not to match that in the final. The same basic logic applies to Jude Bellingham, who is also on six goals and one assist. So the Golden Boot is still live because goals in the third-place match count, and history shows that playoff has influenced the award before. But among the challengers, Mbappé is the one with a genuine chance to take it from Messi; Kane would need an exceptional scoring burst and help from events in the final.

3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jul 18

Jesús Valenzuela Sáez, 42, will referee Saturday's England-France third-place playoff at Miami Stadium, with kickoff set for 10 p.m. BST.
The Venezuelan official has handled three matches at the 2026 World Cup and previously took charge of both teams in Qatar 2022—England's 0-0 draw with the U.S. and France's 3-1 win over Poland.
Valenzuela Sáez largely works in South and Central America, has overseen Copa América and Copa Libertadores matches, and was named CONMEBOL's best referee in 2021 by the IFFHS.
The playoff still carries stakes beyond pride: Kylian Mbappé has 8 goals and 3 assists, while Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham each have 6 goals and 1 assist in the Golden Boot race.
Lionel Messi leads that race with 8 goals and 4 assists before Sunday's final between Spain and Argentina, leaving England and France chasing one of the tournament's last individual prizes.