FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot Race; Who Will Finish on Top?

Lionel Messi

The Argentinian captain is still the player with the most goals in the FIFA World Cup season this year and this too by a mile. His hat trick in his opening match alone silenced all his doubters who were skeptical about him having a good performance given that he has been playing in the Major League Soccer for the past few years and is also at the dusk of his career as he is 39 years old. He is proving all of those doubters wrong as by now he has scored 6 goals in just three matches. He has also made history by becoming the all time leading goal scorer in FIFA World Cups with 18 goals after surpassing Miroslav’s record this very season.

Kylian Mbappe

The France prodigy has also cemented his legacy this World Cup season as he has scored 4 goals and 2 assists in just 3 games. At this point, this is no surprise that Kylian is scoring this much as he is known for being one of the greatest footballers of this generation. He even gave a similar performance in the last FIFA World Cup and is showing up again this World Cup season. France has one of the strongest teams in the tournament this season and has a realistic shot at winning the cup this season.

Ousmane Dembélé

The reigning Ballon d'Or winner certainly has what it takes to win the Golden Boot. His 32-minute hat trick against Norway in France's final group game was everything you'd need to see. He scored the same type of goal twice. He picked up the ball on the right-hand side of the box, pushed it on his left and fired a superb curling effort to the far corner.

Vinícius Júnior

Vinícius Júnior is the main attacking outlet for manager Carlo Ancelotti, who is one of the best coaches in the world at getting his biggest stars to perform. He has more goals since Ancelotti's arrival 12 months ago than he did in his first 39 games for Brazil, including goals in all three of his side's group games.

Erling Haaland

The Norwegian star has a realistic shot at winning the golden boot. He has, at this point of time four goals already in 3 games and if he locks in in future games then he would be a terror to watch out for. However, for winning the golden boot he would have to take his team deep in the tournament which might give him some problems as the Norwegian team is not one of the strongest teams currently.

Apart from these five. England’s Harry Kane also stands a chance at winning the golden boot as he has 3 goals in 3 games and if he just takes his game to the next level in the future round, he might have a realistic shot at the prestigious award.