The race for the World Cup 2026 Golden Boot continues apace and the usual suspects are right up there at the top of the rankings.
As the round of 32 continues and contenders fall by the wayside, the biggest hitters aren't just staying involved at the World Cup. They're scoring the goals that are making sure of it.
There will undoubtedly be more surprises along the way, but let's recap the top goalscorers still standing in the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.
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Who is going to win the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot?
Leading the race are players who have won the Golden Boot for their club at league level, on the European stage, and even previously at the World Cup.
Kylian Mbappe took home the gong in 2022 with eight goals, including a hat-trick in defeat in the final - and he's already over halfway there with half of the tournament still potentially ahead of him.
And what sort of list would this be without the greatest football player of all time at the forefront of it? The one, the only, the man with nothing left to prove who still plays like he does: Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi (Argentina - 6 goals)
Lionel Messi opened his 2026 World Cup campaign with a hat-trick against Algeria, scoring two glorious long range efforts in the process.
Despite his age, fans may have suspected that Messi would do this at the tournament, now relieved of the burdensome pressure that plagued him his entire career.
The lack of a World Cup victory, back when Cristiano Ronaldo's name was still floated in debates with him, was often used against the Argentine's 'greatest of all time' claim. No more.
With his historic 2022 run placing the final cherry on top of Messi's near-perfect career, 2026 could be the World Cup version of him playing with the shackles off, and finally winning the Golden Boot.
Messi added to his goals with a record-breaking brace against Austria, bagging his 17th and 18th strikes to put him top of the World Cup's all-time goalscoring charts.
The Argentine then scored a free-kick in a substitute appearance against Jordan, putting him two strikes clear of his closest competitors.
Kylian Mbappe (France - 6 goals)
Kylian Mbappe is a man for the big occasion.
The Frenchman's goalscoring only appears to improve when the pressure's on, so an opening game brace bodes extremely well for his Golden Boot chances.
Mbappe pipped Messi to the award in 2022, with a hat-trick in defeat in the final.
The Real Madrid star is the first player in history to have bagged four World Cup final goals and France look dangerously capable of making a third successive appearance in the global showpiece.
His first strike against Sweden in the Round of 32 was another peach, jinking one way then the other before finding the far corner. The second was textbook, opening his body after latching onto a Michael Olise through-ball and bending it into the net.
Erling Haaland (Norway - 5 goals)
Erling Haaland opened his World Cup account with two goals in his opening game against Iraq.
The Manchester City striker announced himself on the World Cup stage with his first goal just before the half-hour mark and then doubled his tally just before half time.
In Norway's second game against Senegal he again bagged another two goals at the New York New Jersey Stadium. This time his two goals came in the second half to put him firmly in the race for the Golden Boot.
His winning goal in the round of 32 sent Ivory Coast home and took Haaland clear in second place in the scoring stakes, one behind Messi.
Harry Kane (England - 5 goals)
Harry Kane became England's record World Cup goalscorer, surpassing Gary Lineker, with his header against Panama, and then went level with Pele after his brace vs DR Congo.
The Bayern Munich striker has notched 13 goals at World Cups, five of which have come at this tournament so far.
Kane already has a World Cup Golden Boot to his name, even if it's one of the weakest in recent memory.
In 2018, Kane took home the award with six goals – an opening-game brace against Tunisia, two penalties and a deflected goal against Panama, and a penalty against Colombia.
Vinicius Junior (Brazil - 4 goals)
Vinicius Junior sits on four goals after scoring in each of his group fixtures against Scotland, Haiti and Morocco.
The crafty Brazilian is perhaps more known for his flair and trickery but his goalscoring is often underrated.
With Vinicius, the bigger the moment, the more likely it seems he is to score. He's popped up in many of Real Madrid's greatest Champions League moments since he joined the club.
After capitalising on a calamitous Scotland error to open the scoring for Brazil, he popped up again with a diving back-post header, and fired his Golden Boot chances sky-high in the process.
Ousmane Dembele (France - 4 goals)
Ousmane Dembele jumped from one goal to four with a spectacular first-half hat-trick in France's Group I decider against a much changed Norway team.
All three goals were finished beautifully and added to his tally soon after his long wait for a major tournament goal finally came to an end.
The Ballon d'Or winner's first four goals of World Cup 2026 were scored in the equivalent of an hour's worth of football.
Matheus Cunha (Brazil - 3 goals)
Manchester United's Matheus Cunha scored Brazil's third goal against Scotland in Group C and it was his third of the World Cup after two against Haiti in the previous game.
With teammate Vini Jr firing on all cylinders and scoring freely, Cunha has been able to convert his pressing and poaching into three goals he'll never forget.
Ismael Saibari (Morocco - 3 goals)
One goal against Brazil. One goal against Scotland. One goal against Haiti.
Morocco's Ismael Saibari achieved a perfect Group C hat-trick of sorts, lifting his excellent first of the tournament over Alisson in the opening group game and smashing the second beyond Angus Gunn.
Johan Manzambi (Switzerland - 3 goals)
Fresh from an eye-catching season in Freiburg's run to the Europa League final, Switzerland's Johan Manzambi has scored his way into Murat Yakin's best starting 11 with three goals in the World Cup group stage.
The 20-year-old scored twice to help break the deadlock against Bosnia and Herzegovina before grabbing a crucial second goal for the Swiss in their win against Canada in Vancouver.
Julian Quinones (Mexico - 3 goals)
The scorer of the very first goal of this World Cup has been a bit of a revelation.
Julian Quinones will have been well-known to followers of Mexican and Saudi football having reaped plenty of silverware in the Liga MX and finished as top scorer in the Saudi Pro League last season, scoring in excess of a goal per game.
His strikes against South Africa, Czech Republic and Ecuador have helped Mexico into the round of 16, and will have the home fans wondering just how long they can keep their 100% run going.
Jonathan David (Canada - 3 goals)
It increasingly feels like a bit of a cheat to include Jonathan David as the tournament progresses, given that all three of his goals came in a 6-0 victory over Qatar.
But Canada have done well to make it as far as the round of 16, particularly as their round of 32 victory over South Africa came off home soil thanks to the way the bracket ended up falling.
Morocco are up next for Jesse Marsch's side in by far their biggest challenge yet, and they will be hoping for more heroics from the Juventus forward.
Who is out of the running?
Senegal's Ismaila Sarr is on four goals, but their exit at Belgium's hands means his goalscoring form ends there.
There's a clutch of players on three goals a piece, but just a couple more of them remain in the competition going into the round of 16.
Dutch duo Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo, Germans Kai Havertz and Deniz Undav, New Zealand's Elijah Just, and DR Congo's Yoana Wissa will be unable to add to their goal tallies now.
So too might Folarin Balogun following his straight red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina, just 17 minutes after he had scored his third goal this summer. The card was harsh and the co-hosts are sure to appeal, but won't be holding their breath. If it is upheld, the Monaco striker would need his side to get past Belgium without him if he is to have any chance of adding any more goals.
Race for the Golden Boot
6 goals
- Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- Kylian Mbappe (France)
5 goals
- Erling Haaland (Norway)
- Harry Kane (England)
4 goals
- Ousmane Dembele (France)
- Vinicius Junior (Brazil)
- Ismaila Sarr (Senegal - eliminated)
