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The FIFA World Cup 2026 began on June 11, 2026 and will conclude on July 19, 2026. So far Round of 32 called the knockout stage is still going on.
The Golden Boot race for the highest goal scorer is a cut throat competition between some of the most famous, elite players in the football world. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not Lionel Messi who is the highest goal scorer of the World Cup 2026 anymore.
Let us find out who is now threatening Messi’s chances for the Golden Boot race at the 2026 World Cup along with the list of highest goal scorers.
Top 5 Golden Boot Contenders
Here are the top 5 contenders for the Golden Boot race in 2026 along with their statistics:
Kylian Mbappe: The French footballer is currently leading the race with 6 goals and 2 assists at the World Cup. He is ahead of Lionel Messi because of the extra assists he delivered for this France National team.
Lionel Messi: Messi has 6 goals so far. He held the top position as the highest goal scorer at the beginning of the tournament until recently when his former PSG teammate, Mbappe beat him for the top spot.
Erling Haaland: Haaland has a total of 5 goals despite the fact that he is playing for his nation Norway, which is not very high in the group rankings. This is a good display of Haaland’s solo strength as an excellent goal scoring machine.
Harry Kane: The England forward has scored 5 goals in the World Cup 2026. Harry Kane is the designated penalty taker of the England National team, allotted the number 9 as the official striker of the team.
Ousmane Dembele: The number 7 of the France National team, Dembele has a total of 4 goals in the World Cup so far. Dembele won the Ballon d’Or 2025, establishing his position as a potential contender for the top race.
Who won the World Cup Golden Boot 2022?
Even though Argentina won the World Cup in 2022, it was actually Kylian Mbappe who won the Golden Boot race. He had a total of 8 goals in the tournament along with a hattrick in the World Cup final against Argentina.
This year at World Cup 2026, Mbappe has already broken the record for the highest number of goals scored in the knockout stage of the tournament beating Cristiano Ronaldo as the former record holder.