World Cup 2026 Golden Boot: Messi moves clear of Mbappe and Haaland as Kane joins thrilling race to finish top scorer

The race for the golden boot at the World Cup is on, and it is already 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, who 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 to take his tally to seven.

His two assists have him ahead of Messi, who has regardless sparkled in North America in also scoring seven goals. His 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 their slender last-32 win over Cape Verde.

Erling Haaland scored for the 14th straight international game when he netted twice against Brazil in the round of 16, taking him level with Mbappe on Messi 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.

Mikel Oyarzabal threw his hat into the ring as his brace against Austria brought his total to four, and while Cristiano Ronaldo does have some catching up to do, he scored from the spot in his side’s dramatic knockout win over Croatia to keep himself somewhat into the mix.

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: