The Golden Boot race is shaping up to be one for the ages, with Cristiano Ronaldo announcing himself as a contender after watching Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland going blow for blow.
Messi leads the way with five goals, after following up his hat-trick against Algeria with both goals Argentina’s 2-0 win over Austria.
His first of the game broke the all-time finals goal record as Messi surpassed Miroslav Klose’s tally of 16. The Argentine went on to score his 18th tournament goal in stoppage time.
Then is was over to Mbappe, who scored a double against Senegal last week and added two more against Iraq.
Mere hours later, Haaland completed the reverse by adding to his brace Iraq last week with another against Senegal.
Ronaldo had come under intense scrutiny for his slow start to the tournament but any doubts have since been removed with a brace in Portugal’s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan.
England’s Harry Kane will have the chance to close the gap on Tuesday when the Three Lions take on Ghana. Kane scored twice against Croatia last week.
Elsewhere in the running is Germany’s Deniz Undav, who has three goals and two assists to his name, and Canada’s Jonathan David who scored a hat-trick against Qatar.
World Cup 2026 Golden Boot standings
Position |
Player |
Nation |
Goals |
Assists |
1 |
Lionel Messi |
Argentina |
5 |
0 |
=2 |
Kylian Mbappe |
France |
4 |
0 |
=2 |
Erling Haaland |
Norway |
4 |
0 |
=4 |
Deniz Undav |
Germany |
3 |
2 |
=4 |
Jonathan David |
Canada |
3 |
0 |
=6 |
Crysencio Summerville |
Netherlands |
2 |
1 |
=6 |
Mikel Oyarzabal |
Spain |
2 |
1 |
=6 |
Maximiliano Araujo |
Uruguay |
2 |
1 |
=6 |
Ayase Ueda |
Japan |
2 |
1 |
=6 |
Vinicius Jr |
Brazil |
2 |
1 |
=6 |
Cody Gakpo |
Netherlands |
2 |
1 |
=6 |
Harry Kane |
England |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Kai Havertz |
Germany |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Yasin Ayari |
Sweden |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Elijah Just |
New Zealand |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Cyle Larin |
Canada |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Johan Manzambi |
Switzerland |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Brian Brobbey |
Netherlands |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Matheus Cunha |
Brazil |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Ismael Saibari |
Morocco |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Daichi Kamada |
Japan |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Ismaila Sarr |
Senegal |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Folarin Balogun |
USA |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Daniel Munoz |
Colombia |
2 |
0 |
=6 |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Portugal |
2 |
0 |
Table correct as of June 24, 2026.
