The celebrities are shining like by no means earlier than on the 2026 World Cup.
A few of the sport’s finest forwards are delivering a Golden Boot race for the ages, every outshining the opposite in an enthralling instance of one-upmanship.
Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane have mixed to search out the web 29 occasions in North America this summer season.
However who will in the end come out on high?
That is the primary World Cup ever to characteristic three gamers who every rating not less than seven occasions in the identical event. Eight targets – the tally for Mbappe and Messi – would’ve already been sufficient to win the Golden Boot outright at each World Cup besides one since 1974; Brazilian legend Ronaldo additionally racked up eight targets in 2002.
Solely three gamers within the nearly 100-year historical past of the lads’s World Cup have ever hit double figures in a single event:
Simply Fontaine (France) – 13 targets in 1958
Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 targets in 1954
Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 10 targets in 1970
There’s an actual risk that three (or extra) might crack double digits on this summer season’s competitors alone. And so they simply so occur to be a few of the largest stars on the planet.
Sure, the event’s enlargement and creation of an extra knockout spherical assist inflate the numbers, however we’re nonetheless witnessing one thing unprecedented. Get pleasure from each minute of it.
Kylian Mbappe 🇫🇷
Objectives: 8Maximum video games left: 2
At this level, it is extra shocking when Mbappe would not rating in a World Cup match. Take into consideration how ridiculous that’s to even say. The French celebrity has 20 targets in as many World Cup appearances throughout his profession, with 12 of them (greater than anybody in historical past) coming in knockout video games. Yet another victory for Les Bleus will ship Mbappe to his third consecutive World Cup remaining, the place he already has 4 targets, together with his iconic 2022 hat-trick.
Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
Objectives: 8Maximum video games left: 3
The present file holder with 21 profession World Cup targets, Messi continues to defy all logic at 39 years previous. His fierce left-footed strike in Argentina’s surreal last-16 comeback win over Egypt prolonged his historic World Cup scoring streak to 9 matches, courting again to the 2022 occasion. If not for his struggles from the penalty spot – he is missed two spot-kicks on the event – Messi would already be in double figures.
Erling Haaland 🇳🇴
Objectives: 7Maximum video games left: 3
World Cup debuts do not get significantly better than this. Haaland’s seven markers have are available in simply 4 matches; he was rested in Norway’s group finale in opposition to France with qualification already secured. Haaland has scored the eventual successful purpose in all 4 appearances this summer season, together with a brace in opposition to Brazil and previous foe Gabriel within the earlier spherical. The insatiable striker now has 62 targets in 51 profession video games for Norway. A very obscene clip.
Harry Kane 🏴
Objectives: 6Maximum video games left: 3
England’s captain and talisman is authoring one of many biggest particular person seasons we have ever seen within the sport. Kane’s emphatic penalty in opposition to Mexico – the eventual match-winning tally on the Azteca – was his 73rd purpose throughout all competitions (63 appearances) for membership and nation in 2025-26. It is an absurd whole that is solely ever been eclipsed by Messi, who scored a scarcely plausible 82 targets for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011-12.
Ousmane Dembele 🇫🇷
Objectives: 5Maximum video games left: 2
Dembele, the Ballon d’Or holder, got here into this summer season’s competitors and not using a World Cup purpose to his title. He is rapidly rectified that, combining with Mbappe and playmaker extraordinaire Michael Olise to type some of the horrifying ahead traces in World Cup historical past. The PSG star is the clear outsider on this Golden Boot race, however he already has one hat-trick on this event, and something shut to a different might rapidly vault him up this record.
