Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé Battle for the Ballon d'Or

Individual goals vs team trophies

Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal are locked in a tight race for soccer's top individual award. A panel of 100 journalists from around the globe will vote on the winner, who will be announced on Oct. 26 at the London Palladium theater.

Mbappé enjoyed a stunning personal campaign. He became the all time top scorer in FIFA World Cup history and finished with 58 goals and 13 assists in 60 games for Real Madrid and France. However, he failed to help his club or national team win a major title, marking a second straight season without major silverware.

Silverware and key match performances

Yamal had a strong argument based on team trophies. The 19 year old won his third LaLiga title, lifted the Spanish Supercopa, and won the World Cup with Spain. He finished with 25 goals and 20 assists in 57 matches, despite missing the final month of the club season due to a hamstring injury.

Yamal recorded 559 dribbles, which was the highest mark in Europe, though he lost the ball 1,181 times. Mbappé was dispossessed 699 times and produced 120 key passes to Yamal's 111.

In big games, including World Cup matches and Champions League knockouts, Mbappé scored 17 goals in 18 games. Yamal scored nine goals in those big fixtures, but his teams won 14 of the 18 matches compared to 12 wins for Mbappé. In other matches, Mbappé scored 41 goals, while Yamal scored 16 goals and added 19 assists. Both players recorded 31 wins in those lower tier games.