The stars have been out at the 2026 World Cup. We’re now in the knockout rounds, and the tournament’s top scorers are distancing themselves from the pack.
We’ve been tracking the race for the Golden Boot, the award that’s given to the World Cup’s top goal scorer. Assists are used as a tiebreaker if two or more players have the same goal total.
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Lionel Messi added to his tally late in group play on Saturday night with a sublime free kick from outside the box. It was his sixth of the tournament after a hat trick in Argentina‘s opener against Algeria and then a brace against Austria.
As of the end of the group stage, Messi was one of five players with at least four goals. (Note: Players whose teams have been eliminated from the tournament are not in the list below.)
World Cup 2026: Daily schedule | Group schedule, results | Standings
2026 World Cup Golden Boot race
France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland are just one goal behind Messi with their efforts on Tuesday. Mbappé earned his fifth goal in France’s knockout-round matchup with Sweden to give his team the first-half lead, and Haaland found the back of the net in the final moments of Norway’s Round of 32 win over Ivory Coast. Mbappé has the tiebreaker between the two players with two assists to his name on the tournament.
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Messi will have a chance to add to his lead on Friday against Cape Verde as the field whittles down to 16 teams.
Messi, Ousmane Dembélé and Canada’s Jonathan David have authored hat tricks. Messi’s came in Argentina’s opener against Algeria, Dembélé’s took place in rapid fashion on Friday versus Norway and David’s three-goal showcase arrived amid Canada’s first-ever World Cup win, a 6-0 trouncing of Qatar.
We’ll be monitoring the Golden Boot race throughout the tournament on this page, so bookmark it and come back to see who’s in front.
