World Cup 2026: the Golden Boot race.

The story so far

As of July 9, 2026 · Round of 16

Lionel Messi has broken away from the pack. After sitting level with Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland for most of the group stage, Messi's 83rd-minute strike against Egypt on July 7 — part of a comeback from 2–0 down that Argentina won 3–2 — took him to eight goals in five matches, the first player this tournament to pull clear of the chasing pack on his own.

Mbappé and Haaland sit tied on seven apiece. Haaland's brace against Brazil on July 5 drew him level with Mbappé, who reached seven with a penalty in France's win over Paraguay. Harry Kane isn't far behind on six, after getting on the scoresheet in England's 3–2 win over Mexico — a match Jude Bellingham also scored twice in. Behind the leading four, a wide chasing group including Vinícius Júnior, Julián Quiñones, Ousmane Dembélé, and Mikel Oyarzabal are all on four goals, so the race for who cracks the top four is still very much open.

Should the leaders finish level, FIFA's tiebreakers kick in: most assists first, then fewest minutes played to reach the tally. On that count Mbappé already has an edge with two assists to his name, while Messi and Haaland have one and none respectively. History still has some way to go before it's threatened — Just Fontaine's 13 goals for France at the 1958 tournament remains the all-time record for a single World Cup, and no one here is halfway to it yet.