Who is leading the race for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot award?

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkNorway's Erling Braut Haaland celebrates scoring his team's second goal againsy Brazil [Mauro Pimentel/AFP]By Al Jazeera StaffUpdated: 29 minutes agoUpdated: 29 minutes agoErling Haaland has joined Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on the leaderboard for the Golden Boot award at the FIFA World Cup 2026.For three days, French talisman Kylian Mbappe and Argentinian great Lionel Messi rubbed shoulders as the joint leaders – with seven goals apiece – in the race to be the tournament’s top goal scorer, but Haaland’s double in Norway’s round of 16 win against Brazil put him level with both on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Top 5 World Cup knockout shocks – Paraguay win hurts Germany againlist 2 of 4Islamic centre brings joy through World Cup watch partieslist 3 of 4Mexican fans keep Ecuador’s team awake before World Cup showdownlist 4 of 4Iran leaves World Cup with warm send-off from Mexican fansend of listWhen the World Cup’s knockout stage began, Messi became the first to reach seven goals when Argentina beat Cape Verde on Friday, and Mbappe matched him a day later as France beat Paraguay.England’s Harry Kane took his tally to six goals after scoring in England’s thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico late on Sunday.Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal and Mbappe’s teammate Ousmane Dembele are hot on their heels with four goals each.Here’s everything you need to know about FIFA’s Golden Boot award:Argentina’s Lionel Messi has scored six goals so far in North America [Tim Heitman/reuters]What’s the FIFA Golden Boot award and how is it decided?FIFA’s Golden Boot is awarded to the player with the most goals at the end of the tournament.France’s Mbappe is the current holder after scoring eight goals in Qatar at the 2022 World Cup.If two players are tied on the same number of goals at the end of the tournament, then the player with the most assists will win the award.If those tiebreakers cannot split two players, then the Golden Boot is handed to the player who achieved their goals and assists in the least number of minutes.Erling Haaland celebrates after the match as Norway qualify for the Round of 16 [Issei Kato/Reuters]Which players are the top goal scorers at World Cup 2026? Kylian Mbappe (France) – 7 goals, 2 assists Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 7 goals, 0 assists Erling Haaland (Norway) – 7 goals, 0 assists Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals, 1 assist Ousmane Dembele (France) – 4 goals, 2 assists Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 4 goals, 1 assist How many Golden Boot awards have current World Cup players won?Mbappe, Kane and James Rodriguez are all looking to bag the top goal-scorer prize for a second time.England’s Kane won the award in 2018 in Russia, while Colombia’s Rodriguez was the top scorer in 2014 in Brazil.No player has ever won the award more than once. Can Cristiano Ronaldo win the Golden Boot this year?The Portuguese star has slowly worked his way up the charts with three goals in four matches. But in order to win, he needs to start scoring more goals, and quickly.If Portugal are to go deep in the tournament, they will look towards their captain to add more goals.Which player has scored the most goals in a single World Cup?French forward Just Fontaine holds the record after scoring an incredible 13 goals at the 1958 tournament in Sweden.Sandor Kocsis scored 11 at the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, while West Germany’s Gerd Muller bagged 10 at the World Cup 1970 in Mexico.Germany’s Miroslav Klose celebrates scoring against Argentina during their World Cup 2006 quarterfinal match in Berlin [File: Reuters]Who has scored the most goals in FIFA World Cup history? Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 20 Kylian Mbappe (France) – 19 Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 Ronaldo (Brazil) – 15 Harry Kane (Engla) and Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 14