The race for the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot roared into life as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland all put in outstanding performances on a high-scoring day for the tournament’s elite strikers.Between them, the trio have already blown away the competition, combining for 13 goals and firmly establishing themselves at the center of the most watched individual battle of the tournament.Messi and Mbappé struck twice for Argentina and France respectively, while Haaland responded in style hours later with a brace of his own for Norway in a dramatic 3-2 win over Senegal on Monday night.Haaland’s double came in a spell 15 minutes after half-time as he made up for missed chances earlier – including a shot off the post and a header saved just before the break.Messi, meanwhile, continued to rewrite history, becoming the FIFA World CupAll-time leading scorer with 18 goals after Argentina’s win over Austria in Arlington, Texas. The Argentina captain now leads the Golden Boot standings with five goals in just two games.Mbappé kept pace in the scoring charts after France’s 3-0 win over Iraq in Philadelphia, taking his tally to 16 and remaining firmly in contention alongside the tournament’s long-standing elite.
Haaland’s rise adds a new dimension to the Golden Boot hunt
While Messi and Mbappé have years of World Cup experience behind them, Haaland is just starting his campaign on football’s biggest stage, with Norway returning to the tournament for the first time since 1998.Despite this, the 25-year-old striker has already scored four goals and extended his remarkable scoring streak to 12 consecutive competitive matches for Norway, during which he scored 24 times.Germany’s Deniz Undav and Canada’s Jonathan David, both with three goals, follow the leading trio in the scoring charts.
The top 10 goalscorers in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
| Classification | The players | Objectives |
| 1 | Lionel Messi (Argentina) | 5 |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappe (France) | 4 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland (Norway) | 4 |
| 4 | Deniz Undav (Germany) | 3 |
| 5 | Jonathan David (Canada) | 3 |
| 6 | Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands) | 2 |
| 7 | Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) | 2 |
| 8 | Maxi Araujo (Uruguay) | 2 |
| 9 | Ayase Ueda (Japan) | 2 |
| 10 | Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) | 2 |