World Cup Golden Boot race explodes into 3-way tie as Haaland equals Mbappe, Messi

The race for the Golden Boot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup has witnessed something unprecedented. With Norway striker Erling Haaland blasting two goals to send five-time champions Brazil out of the tournament, the number of players with a tally of seven goals each reached three.

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France captain Kylian Mbappe and his Argentina counterpart Lionel Messi complete the rare club of three till the England-Mexico match in the Round of 16 on Sunday (July 5). Mbappe leads the list because he also had two assists, while Messi and Haaland had none. However, Haaland, who uses his mother’s surname Braut on his jersey, achieved the feat in four outings, as against his rivals’ five each. He did not play the match against France in the group stage.

In the 2022 edition, only two players, Mbappe and Messi, scored seven goals or more. Mbappe finished with eight to clinch the Golden Boot.

Norway made their first-ever quarterfinals in the World Cup after thumping the Selecao 2-1 in East Rutherford on Sunday. They will meet England, who knocked co-hosts Mexico out. France will play Morocco, while Argentina are yet to play their Round of 16 match against Egypt in Atlanta on Wednesday (July 7).

Harry Kane reaches 6

England captain Harry Kane, who scored one of his team’s three goals against Mexico in a heated match, was in second place with six goals. While none was at five at the moment, six players have registered four goals each, including Kane’s colleague Jude Bellingham, who netted a brace against the Mexicans. Others who have scored four are: Vinicius Junior (Brazil), Ousman Dembele (France), Julian Quinones (Mexico), Ismail Sarr (Senegal) and Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain).

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Thirteen players have scored three goals so far, including Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Twenty-five have two, while 116 have one to their credit.

Who gets the Golden Boot?

The Golden Boot will be awarded to the player who scores the most goals in the tournament. If two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists (as determined by the members of the FIFA Technical Study Group) shall be decisive. If names still cannot be separated, the total minutes played in the tournament will be considered, with the player who appeared for fewer minutes ranked before the others.