The World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race has become one of the biggest at the tournament with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé tied at the top of the score chart.
Mbappé had another big moment for France during their 2-0 FIFA World Cup quarter-final win over Morocco. The French captain could not convert a first-half penalty, but after the break, he responded in deadly fashion to pick up his tournament score to eight goals. The French also qualified for the semi-finals with their win.
With that strike, Mbappé has now joined Messi, who’s now up to eight goals after his goal against Egypt. That FIFA World Cup top scorer race has become an open contest—and neither of the superstars is about to hold back.
Messi and Mbappé Go Head-to-Head for Golden Boot
While Messi is still incredibly hot on the scoreboard, Mbappé is now breathing down his neck. The French star is no stranger to pressure, and he managed to find a way to crack the code.
But it’s not a race between just two guys.
Goal machine Norway’s Erling Haaland is just one behind with seven goals, and England captain Harry Kane is six on target as well. Al Jazeera included Messi eighth in their list before the quarter-finals, with Haaland and Mbappé both in their top six running rivals, as well as the six goals Sky Sports had scored for Kane.
Ousmane Dembélé has also had a great World Cup campaign for France, having scored five goals, with four more being available for the four-star trio.
FIFA World Cup 2026 Top Scorers Ranking
- Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal: 13 goals
- Kylian Mbappé has scored 8 goals for France in the campaign
- Christian Eriksen – Norway: 2 goals
- Harry Kane (England): 6 goals
- Kia de Jong – Holland: 4 goals
- Ismaïla Sarr had a highlight of four goals for Senegal.
- Mikel Oyarzabal – Spain: 4 goals
- Ricky Lambert – Sweden: 4 goals
- Julián Quiñones – Mexico: 4 goals
- Vinícius Júnior, Brazil: 4 goals
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is going into a crucial phase, and a single goal has the potential to significantly alter the Golden Boot table. Messi or Mbappé? But will Haaland and Kane deliver a late flurry of goals?
The race for the World Cup 2026 Golden Boot has come to a boil.
