Lionel Messi regained the top spot in the race for the Golden Boot in the FIFA World Cup 2026 by scoring his seventh goal in the Round of 32 game against debutants Cape Verde at the Miami Stadium in the United States on Friday (July 3). While the talisman scored a goal in a record eighth consecutive World Cup game, he also equalled his own tally of seven registered in the previous edition in Qatar in 2022, becoming the first player to accomplish it twice.
Also read: Lionel Messi scores record 20th World Cup goal, extends streak to 8 games
The defending champions survived a scare to tame the African side 3-2 in extra time after Messi put the Albiceleste ahead in the 29th minute. Argentina will take on Egypt in the pre-quarter finals in Atlanta on July 7.
Mbappe has 6; Kane, Haaland have 5
Frenchman Kylian Mbappe was second in the list with six goals after he struck twice against Sweden in the Round of 32 on June 30. He was technically ahead of his Latin American rival after scoring his sixth, thanks to his two assists against the latter’s zero.
In 2022, Messi failed to win the Golden Boot despite his tally of seven as Mbappe, who lost the final against the Argentina star, scored eight.
England captain Harry Kane and Norway’s Erling Haaland were tied in third place with five goals each.
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot race: After Round of 32 ends
♦ Lionel Messi (Argentina) 7 goals
♦ Kylian Mbappe (France) 6 goals
♦ Erling Haaland (Norway) 5 goals
♦ Harry Kane (England) 5 goals
♦ Vinicius Junior (Brazil) 4 goals
♦ Ousmane Dembele (France) 4 goals
♦ Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) 4 goals
♦ Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) 4 goals
Four players have 4 goals each
Vinicius Junior of Brazil, Ousmane Dembele of France, Ismaila Sarr of Senegal and Mikel Oyarzabal of Spain have four goals each. Sarr, however, would not get another chance in this tournament as his team was knocked out by Belgium in a close game in the Round of 32.
Also read: World Cup 2026: How Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni saw a 100-game evolution
Thirteen players have scored three goals so far, including Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Twenty-five have two, while 115 have one to their credit.
Who gets the Golden Boot?
The Golden Boot will be awarded to the player who scores 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.
Comments are closed.