{"id":1968,"date":"2026-07-08T11:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=1968"},"modified":"2026-07-08T11:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T11:10:23","slug":"world-cup-golden-boot-messi-leads-mbappe-haaland-before-quarterfinals-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=1968","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Golden Boot: Messi leads Mbappe, Haaland before quarterfinals | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Messi is the top goal scorer after tallying his eighth against Egypt, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe next best.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 8 Jul 2026<\/span>8 Jul 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Argentina superstar Lionel Messi has, once again, taken the lead in the race for the World Cup\u2019s Golden Boot award after scoring his eighth goal in his country\u2019s thrilling 3-2 win over Egypt<\/a> in the round of 16 on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s goal brought Argentina back on level terms after they were 2-0 down in the match in Atlanta, and also helped him break away from the rest of the pack.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

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For three days, French talisman Kylian Mbappe and Argentinian great Lionel Messi rubbed shoulders as the joint leaders \u2013 with seven goals apiece \u2013 in the race to be the tournament\u2019s top goal scorer, but Haaland\u2019s double in Norway\u2019s round of 16 win against Brazil put him level with both on Sunday.<\/p>\n

When the World Cup\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

England\u2019s Harry Kane took his tally to six goals after scoring in England\u2019s thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico late on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s Mikel Oyarzabal and Mbappe\u2019s teammate Ousmane Dembele are hot on their heels with four goals each.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about FIFA\u2019s Golden Boot award:<\/p>\n

\"Lionel
Messi shoots at goal during the Argentina-Egypt last-16 tie at Atlanta Stadium [Nathan Ray Seebeck\/Imagn Images via Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s the FIFA Golden Boot award and how is it decided?<\/h2>\n

FIFA\u2019s Golden Boot is awarded to the player with the most goals at the end of the tournament.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s Mbappe is the current holder after scoring eight goals in Qatar<\/a> at the 2022 World Cup.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Haaland
Erling Haaland celebrates after the match as Norway qualify for the round of 16 [Issei Kato\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Which players are the top goal scorers at World Cup 2026?<\/h2>\n
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  1. Lionel Messi (Argentina) \u2013 8 goals, 1 assist<\/li>\n
  2. Kylian Mbappe (France) \u2013 7 goals, 2 assists<\/li>\n
  3. Erling Haaland (Norway) \u2013 7 goals, 0 assists<\/li>\n
  4. Harry Kane (England) \u2013 6 goals, 1 assist<\/li>\n
  5. Ousmane Dembele (France) \u2013 4 goals, 2 assists<\/li>\n
  6. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) \u2013 4 goals, 1 assist<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How many Golden Boot awards have current World Cup players won?<\/h2>\n

    Mbappe, Kane and James Rodriguez are all looking to bag the top goal-scorer prize for a second time.<\/p>\n

    England\u2019s Kane won the award in 2018 in Russia, while Colombia\u2019s Rodriguez was the top scorer in 2014 in Brazil.<\/p>\n

    No player has ever won the award more than once.<\/p>\n

    Entering the quarterfinals, Mbappe gets his chance first to increase his goal tally when France plays Morocco on Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Which player has scored the most goals in a single World Cup?<\/h2>\n

    French forward Just Fontaine holds the record after scoring an incredible 13 goals at the 1958 tournament in Sweden.<\/p>\n

    Sandor Kocsis scored 11 at the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, while West Germany\u2019s Gerd Muller bagged 10 at the World Cup 1970 in Mexico.<\/p>\n

    \"Kylian
    France\u2019s forward Kylian Mbappe practices ahead of his nation\u2019s quarterfinal tie against Morocco on Thursday in Boston [Franck Fife\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Who has scored the most goals in FIFA World Cup history?<\/h2>\n
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    1. Lionel Messi (Argentina) \u2013 21<\/li>\n
    2. Kylian Mbappe (France) \u2013 19<\/li>\n
    3. Miroslav Klose (Germany) \u2013 16<\/li>\n
    4. Ronaldo (Brazil) \u2013 15<\/li>\n
    5. Harry Kane (England) and Gerd Muller (West Germany) \u2013 14<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n


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      Messi is the top goal scorer after tallying his eighth against Egypt, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe next best. Published On 8 Jul 20268 Jul 2026 Argentina superstar Lionel Messi has, once again, taken the lead in the race for the World Cup\u2019s Golden Boot award after scoring his eighth goal in his country\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1968","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-international-news"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}