World Cup 2026 Golden Boot: Messi, Mbappe, Haaland and Kane in thrilling race to finish top scorer

The race for the golden boot at the World Cup is on, and it is shaping into a thrilling race featuring some of the best players in the world.

The stars continue to dominate at this tournament, none more so than Kylian Mbappe. He got up and running with a brace against Senegal before notching another against Iraq, and a third double against Sweden in the round of 32. He then added another in the last 16, scoring a crucial goal from the spot against Paraguay, and scored again in the quarter-finals against Morocco after earlier missing a penalty. His two assists could prove crucial if he were to finish level pegging with his rivals.

Lionel Messi’s opening hat-trick against Algeria was followed by a double against Austria – a game in which he highlighted one of his greatest traits, resilience, after a penalty miss, to break the all-time World Cup scoring record. Another goal arrived off the bench against Jordan, before he inevitably scored in both their slender knockout-stage wins over Cape Verde and Egypt to take his tally for the tournament to eight.

Erling Haaland scored for the 14th straight international game when he netted twice against Brazil in the round of 16, putting him on seven. Harry Kane is chasing too, having saved England with a double against DR Congo and added a goal and an assist against Mexico – where Jude Bellingham also climbed into contention with his third and fourth goals of the tournament.

If players are tied for goals, the number of assists will determine who ranks higher. If there is still a tie, it comes down to minutes played and the goals-per-minute ratio. Here are the latest 2026 World Cup golden boot standings: