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The race for the golden boot at the World Cup is hurtling towards an epic contest during the knockout stage as Lionel Messi went back ahead of Kylian Mbappe at the top of the standings with Vinicius Jr and Erling Haalandalso very much in the race.
The stars continue to dominate at this tournament, none more so than Messi after backing up a hat-trick against Algeria with a double against Austria to highlight one of his greatest traits after a penalty miss. Another arrived off the bench against Jordan before he inevitably scored again in their slender knockouts win over Cape Verde.
Not to be outdone, Mbappe has been in excellent scoring touch and a brace against Sweden propelled France to a 3-0 victory and a spot in the last-16 as he once again thrives on the biggest stage. It briefly sent him above Messi in the standings, pipping him on assists while tied on goals scored, before the Argentinian bulged the net for a seventh time this tournament.
Elsewhere, Haaland scored for the 13th straight international when he netted an 86th-minute winner in Norway’s last-32 clash with Ivory Coast to send his side into the next round and move on to five goals for the tournament – just one behind Mbappe. Harry Kane is right there with him, too, having saved England with a double against DR Congo.
Mikel Oyarzabal has thrown his hat into the ring as his brace against Austria brings his total to four. And while he does have some catching up to do, Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the spot in his side’s dramatic knockout win over Croatia to keep himself somewhat into the mix.
If players are tied for goals, the number of assists will determine who ranks higher. If there is still a tie, it comes down to minutes played and the goals-per-minute ratio. Here are the latest 2026 World Cup golden boot standings:
World Cup 2026 golden boot standings
1. Lionel Messi (Argentina), 7 goals
2. Kylian Mbappe (France), 6 goals, (2 assists)
= 3. Erling Haaland (Norway), 5 goals
= 3. Harry Kane (England), 5 goals
5. Ousmane Dembele (France), 4 goals (2 assists)
= 6. Vinicius Jr (Brazil), 4 goals (1 assist)
= 6. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain), 4 goals (1 assist)
= 6. Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), 4 goals (1 assist)
9. Deniz Undav (Germany), 3 goals (2 assists)
= 10. Johan Manzambi (Switzerland), 3 goals (1 assist)
= 10. Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), 3 goals (1 assist)
= 10. Julian Quinones (Mexico), 3 goals (1 assist)
= 13. Jonathan David (Canada), 3 goals
= 13 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), 3 goals
= 13. Ismael Saibari (Morocco), 3 goals
= 13. Matheus Cunha (Brazil), 3 goals
= 13. Brian Brobbey (Netherlands), 3 goals
= 13. Elijah Just (New Zealand), 3 goals
= 13. Yoane Wissa (DR Congo), 3 goals
= 13. Kai Havertz (Germany), 3 goals
= 13. Folarin Balogun (USA), 3 goals
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