MEXICO CITY (Kashmir English): The race for the Golden Boot in the FIFA World Cup 2026 has entered a very interesting phase even after group stage matches.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi is at the top with 5 goals, while France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland are also in the Golden Boot race with 4 goals each.
The extraordinary pace of goals in the tournament by individuals has also strengthened the possibility that this time, double-digit goals may be required to win the Golden Boot, which has been seen on very few occasions in the World Cup history.
FIFA World Cup 2026
The race for the award in the FIFA World Cup, being co-hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada, is becoming one of the most exciting races ever, where the world’s biggest stars are trying to outdo each other.
As of June 25, Lionel Messi (Argentina) is leading the race with 5 goals.
Kylian Mbappé (France) and Erling Haaland (Norway) have 4 goals each. Similarly, Jonathan David (Canada), Denis Undav (Germany), and Johan Manzambi (Switzerland) have 3 goals each.
Additionally, there are 20 other players who have scored two goals each in the initial two matches. These include England’s Harry Kane, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, and Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal.
Given the goal-scoring pace in the 2026 World Cup so far, it is expected that this time, potentially 10 or more goals will be required to win the Golden Boot, which has been seen on very few occasions in World Cup history.
In the history of the World Cup, only 3 players have scored 10 or more goals in a single edition.
In the 1954 World Cup, Hungary’s Sándor Kocsis achieved this feat. In 1958, France’s Just Fontaine set a world record by scoring 13 goals in a single tournament, which he achieved in only 6 matches and still stands today.
In the 1970 World Cup, Germany’s Gerd Müller was also among the players who scored double-digit goals.
For the first time, 48 teams are participating in the 2026 World Cup, which means teams reaching the semi-finals will have the opportunity to play 8 matches, thus making the chances of new goal records higher than ever before.
In the 2006 Germany World Cup and the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the Golden Boot was won with only five goals.
Furthermore, in the last 13 World Cup editions, no player has scored more than 8 goals.
During this period, only 2 players managed to score 8 goals: Brazil’s Ronaldo in the 2002 World Cup and France’s Kylian Mbappé in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
