25/06/2026
World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race: Messi, Mbappe, Haaland & Vinicius in epic battle to be top scorer
4 hours ago / autty
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Vinicius Junior have kept up the pace in what is shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested World Cup Golden Boot battles in memory.
The superstars are delivering on the biggest stage of them all and are setting a blistering pace in the race to be the 2026 tournament's top goalscorer.
Messi heads the field with five goals from two games after his double against Austria secured Argentina a 2-0 victory.
Mbappe, Haaland and Vinicius Junior are just behind Messi with four goals after doubles of their own in respective wins for France, Norway and Brazil.
Not among them as yet, however, is Harry Kane, who took home the gong in 2018, after England's 0-0 stalemate with Ghana on Tuesday.
The Bayern striker had few chances in Boston, but should have scored late on when he uncharacteristically blazed over from close range when unmarked.
How the race for the Golden Boot stands...
Will anyone else join the party?
The big question is: will anyone else gatecrash the Golden Boot party?
Kane scored twice against Croatia before his Ghana blank and like Mbappe, the England captain, whose overall World Cup goal tally stands at 10, has the chance to become the first striker to win multiple Golden Boots.
Spain's Lamine Yamal [one goal] got his tournament up and running with a goal against Saudi Arabia, while Cristiano Ronaldo is off the mark with a double against Uzbekistan.
Mikel Oyarzabal was the scorer of the winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2024 final and the Real Sociedad forward has made a fast start with two goals in his country's thrashing of Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Deniz Undav was a rank outsider before the finals kicked off, but the Stuttgart forward already has three goals and could be a surprise contender if Germany go far. Netherland's Cody Gakpo [two] also has a good scoring record at