And there were just two. The fight for the Golden Boot is firmly between Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, and the latter has everything to do in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final against Spain on Sunday at the New York-New Jersey Stadium. The French captain raced ahead of the Argentine superstar on Saturday owing to a brace in the third-place playoff match against England. The 39-year-old Messi has now fallen behind in the race, and he faces an uphill task in the summit clash if he is to snatch the top prize away from Mbappe.
Mbappe strengthened his claim for the top-scorer prize after scoring two goals in France’s dramatic 4-6 defeat to England in Saturday’s third-place playoff. Although Les Bleus missed out on the bronze medal, the French forward achieved a major personal milestone by surpassing Messi’s all-time World Cup scoring record.
His two-goal display lifted his overall World Cup tally to 21 goals, one more than the Argentine legend, while also taking his tournament total to 10.
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Having already claimed the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar with eight goals, finishing ahead of Messi’s seven, Mbappe now sits in pole position to retain the honour in the 2026 edition of the tournament.
Messi now has just one final opportunity to overturn the deficit when Argentina face Spain in Sunday’s title clash.
What does Messi need to do?
The Argentine captain remains firmly in contention, but his path to the award depends on an exceptional performance in the final. A hat-trick would see Messi finish the tournament with 11 goals, enough to overtake Mbappe outright.
Even if he doesn’t score a hat-trick, a brace can also be sufficient, provided he adds at least one assist, as both players currently have four assists to their names. There is another mathematical possibility: if Messi scores a brace and is substituted before completing 56 minutes, he would edge ahead based on the tournament’s tiebreak criteria.
However, such a scenario appears highly improbable in a World Cup final as Lionel Scaloni would never substitute Messi in such a high-stakes match. And this could only be made possible if Messi suffers an injury during the final.
Mbappe has accumulated 10 goals and four assists in 769 minutes, while Messi has registered eight goals and four assists in 712 minutes.
The tournament has already witnessed several prolific attacking displays beyond the leading duo. A total of ten players have managed to score at least four goals, with England’s Jude Bellingham ending the competition third in the scoring charts on seven goals. Norway striker Erling Haaland also netted seven times despite featuring for just 537 minutes.
