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Golden Boot competition at World Cup 2026 it is becoming one of the history books.
After only two games, the Argentine talisman Lionel Messi leads the way with five goals, followed by France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland with four goals each.
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Germany’s Deniz Undav has three with Canada’s Jonathan David on the same streak after hitting a hat-trick against Qatar.
A further 20 players have scored twice in their opening two matches, including 2018 Golden Boot winner Harry Kane of England, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, Vinicius Jr of Brazil and Mikel Oyarzabal of Spain.
All the stars are shining and, considering the number of goals so far, it seems that two figures may be needed to win the Golden Boot, which has happened only three times in history – with Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis in 1954, France’s Just Fontaine four years later and Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1970.
Fontaine holds the record for 13 goals in a single World Cup in just six games for Sweden, but the 48-team field in 2026 means the nations due to go to the semifinals in July will play an unprecedented eight games this season.
At the 2006 World Cup in Germany and four years later in South Africa, just five goals were needed to claim the Golden Boot while no one has scored more than eight in the last 13 years, which was achieved by Ronaldo of Brazil in 2002 and Mbappe four years ago in Qatar.
Why have so many goals been scored at the 2026 World Cup?
It took only 33 matches for the century target to be achieved in this edition, second only to 1954 in terms of pace.
After Portugal won 5-0 against Uzbekistan on Tuesday139 goals had been scored in the first 45 games – the most in a group of teams in one of the finals, beating the 136 scored in 2014 in three fewer games.
The number of goals in one format came to Qatar 2022 with 172 from 64 games. With an additional 40 matches in the new expanded format that came into force this year, it is always broken, but the number of goals shows that the old mark will be erased.
One reason for the high number of goals could be the Adidas Trionda ball, which FIFA has ordered for this World Cup.
Before the tournament, FIFA said that it has several important tools, including deep seams that are deliberately designed to stabilize the plane by ensuring adequate and well-distributed traction when the ball moves in the air – in short, it flies in the air – while the ball is designed to have a greater impact when hitting or swinging that we see.
Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick said: “This ball is as fast as a missile.”
Adding the tension of hydration breaks at each half can also mean players are performing at their peak for longer, resulting in late goals now. Of course, the fact that 48 teams are taking part, from 85 of the world’s leading teams in the rankings, means that there are some mistakes in the first round.
Colombia’s coach, Nestor Lorenzo, also said that the attackers are more protected by the seniors than before, which can lead to more goals, and he added: “They didn’t have this protection 20, 30 years ago when they were beaten a lot, when aggressive play was more common.
“Nowadays, any team that defends well and uses attacks and tries to play can be successful.”
Who will win the Golden Boot?
A lot will depend on fitness and, how the world goes into the competition, but Messi should be considered the favorite to win his first honour.
The 38-year-old scored seven goals at the last World Cup and has now scored in six games in a row, having scored all goals in Qatar and the first two games of the tournament. He also missed a penalty against Austria, which would have seen him complete his hat-trick.
Argentina’s final game on Sunday was already eliminated by Jordan, although Messi’s inclusion from the start was not given because his team had already secured the top spot in Group J.
They are looking to prepare for a good knockout game, however, with the possibility of Uruguay or Cape Verde in the last 32, maybe Australia or Iran in the round of 16 and the possibility of Croatia or Colombia in the quarterfinals, if they win.
Only in the semifinals can they meet a strong country, either in the form of England or Brazil or the dark horses Japan, Norway or Mexico.
Mbappe also looks set to have good pace and is expected to face Norway on Friday in the final, which will decide the top spot in Group I.
Winning the group would mean a round of 32 meeting with Sweden, Germany who could be opponents in the last 16 and the Netherlands or Morocco waiting in the last eight.
Whoever finishes second to France and Norway could face a difficult task against the Ivory Coast in the last 32 with Brazil or Japan awaiting the winners and the possibility of England lurking in the quarterfinals, which could threaten Haaland’s hopes, despite scoring 59 goals in 52 international games for Norway.
Kane wants to enter the negotiations with England facing the final stage of Group L on Sunday against Panama with the hope of a meeting of 32 with Cape Verde to follow and Mexico may be waiting at the Azteca (known at the World Cup as Mexico City Stadium) in the round of 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo may have left it too late to start his real quest, as Portugal face Colombia on Sunday in their final Group K match and could face Ghana in the last 32 with Spain in the last 16.
But Vinicius Jr can add to his two-goal haul when Brazil face Scotland on Thursday in their final Group C match despite the knockout stage looking like a tough test.
