World Cup 2026: Messi, Mbappé, Bellingham, Kane… Who will win the golden boot?

15.07.26 FT World Cup

England

1

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Argentina

2

Several strikers are in the race for the golden boot at the World Cup. As the semi-finals approach, five players stand out as the leading contenders to finish atop the scoring charts.

With 8 goals each, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé are the frontrunners for the award that crowns the tournament’s top scorer. The Argentina captain faces a semi-final clash against England, while the French star will take on Spain.

Erling Haaland (7 goals) is out of the running after Norway’s quarter-final exit at the hands of England, unlike the English duo Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, who have scored 6 goals each.

2025 Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé is also in contention, but he’ll need to deliver a top performance in this final sprint, having netted 5 times so far in this American World Cup.

Worth noting: Kylian Mbappé is the reigning World Cup golden boot winner, having scored 8 goals in Qatar 2022—including a hat-trick in the final against Argentina.

Here’s the top 10 scorers ahead of the semi-finals:

1- Lionel Messi (Argentina): 8 goals

2- Kylian Mbappé (France): 8 goals

3- Erling Haaland (Norway): 7 goals

4- Jude Bellingham (England): 6 goals

5- Harry Kane (England): 6 goals

6- Ousmane Dembélé (France): 5 goals

7- Vinícius Júnior (Brazil): 4 goals

8- Julián Quiñones (Mexico): 4 goals

9- Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal): 4 goals

10- Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain): 4 goals

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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