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Is this the greatest World Cup Golden Boot race ever?
One of the most enjoyable factors of the 2026 World Cup has been how the world's best players have shown up in North America.
It's very rare for a major tournament to see all the big names lauded before the finals kick-off to actually live up to their billing after gruelling domestic seasons, but that's exactly what has happened in North America.
So much so that there isn't a better measure than the performances the elite players are putting in than the race for this year's Golden Boot.
As we head into the semi-finals and with four of the top five top scorers still active in the competition, have we ever seen a Golden Boot chase like this before?
Lionel Messi’s greatest World Cup moments
Where are we at?
Going into the final four, it's Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi who lead the way on eight goals apiece.
The two superstars, who were the top two from the tournament four years ago as well, have broken record after record Stateside and are now the top two scoring players in the history of the World Cup.
Now, if one of them is to win the Golden Boot outright, they'll need to add to their total and reach a number that hasn't been surpassed since Gerd Muller's 10 goals in 1970.
In fact, only eight players in nearly 100 years of World Cup football have amassed eight or more goals in a single tournament, but in 2026 we've already seen Mbappe do it for a second time and Messi join him.
Yet, they might not be alone either.
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Kylian Mbappe | France | 8 | 3 |
| 1= | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 | 2 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | Norway | 7 | 0 |
| 4= | Jude Bellingham | England | 6 | 1 |
| 4= | Harry Kane | England | 6 | 1 |
| 6 | Ousmane Dembele | France | 5 | 2 |
| 7= | Ismaila Sarr | Senegal | 4 | 1 |
| 7= | Julian Quinones | Mexico | 4 | 1 |
| 7= | Vinicius Junior | Brazil | 4 | 1 |
| 7= | Mikel Oyarzabal | Spain | 4 | 1 |
Erling Haaland threatened to join them, but will have to settle for the incredible tally of seven goals in his first World Cup, a total that would have won him the shiny shoe at four of the last five finals.
One behind him, however, is England duo Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who are both on six, having scored 12 of the 13 goals the Three Lions have netted in 2026.
With a possible two games left to play, there's every chance one or both could also move up to or past the magic eight number and steal the gold from the leading pair.
Jordan Bank - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
How does it compare to other tournaments?
To have four players all in contention at this stage of the tournament is rare, to have them on such ridiculously high totals is actually unheard of.
Looking back to 2022, Mbappe was 'only' on five going into the final before his hat-trick, the same as Messi, with Olivier Giroud one behind them both on 4 - which feels a paltry sum compared to the stats we've seen this year.
Four years earlier, Kane won the Golden Boot with six, but didn't actually score a goal after the Round of 16 and still finished ahead of Antoine Griezmann and Romelu Lukaku's four.
In fact, all but one of the previous NINE tournaments were won by winners with six goals, with the majority having their boot confirmed before the final games were even played.
Only 2002 stands out to slight more significant, and that's only because Ronaldo netted 9 goals and the calibre of his rivals came in the shape of Miroslav Klose and teammate Rivaldo - all of whom had a chance of winning the race ahead of the final between Brazil and Germany before Ronaldo took the gong.
Never before have we seen a Golden Boot race which is as close as it is, involves such elite individuals and one that looks like it's going down to the final game with four goal-getters still in play.
Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Double-digit history
Hitting double digits seemed ligitimately possible for at least one of the contenders. With all of them having two games left to play when you count the 3rd/4th play-off game, too.
That would match Muller's total from 56 years ago, but is the all-time record of Just Fontaine's 13 in sight, too?
Given what we've seen from these incredible individuals so far, anything is possible in 2026's golden Golden Boot race for the ages.
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