Jonathan David had the game of his life as he scored a hat-trick in Canada’s victory against Qatar. With this, the forward joins Lionel Messi atop of the Golden Boot race so far in the 2026 World Cup, as both are the only players to score three in a game.
Canada had a field day against Qatar, winning 6-0 with David providing three of them. Qatar weren’t able to defend at all, got two red cards and were disheveled by David and company. It came at a cost as midfielder Ibrahim Koné suffered a gruesome leg injury that will render him unavailable for the rest of the World Cup.
With this, David joins Messi as the top goalscorer of the tournament so far. Messi scored his three goals in a magnificent performance vs. Algeria. However, Messi has played just once in this tournament, while David has played twice.
2026 World Cup top goalscorers so far
Messi and David are the only ones with a hat-trick in this tournament, but the reality is that there are a plethora of names following them really close behind. What it’s certain is that the Golden Boot race is barely starting.
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 3
- Jonathan David (Canada) – 3
- Kylian Mbappé (France) – 2
- Erling Haaland (Norway) – 2
- Harry Kane (England) – 2
- Kai Havertz (Germany) – 2
- Folarin Balogun (United States) – 2
- Yasin Ayari (Sweden) – 2
- Elijah Just (New Zealand) – 2
How many players have scored a hat-trick in the World Cup?
Scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup stage is quite a feat. However, it’s been done plenty of times. After all, the World Cup has been around since 1930. A total of 53 players have scored World Cup hat-tricks for 56 3-goal performances. This means only four players have scored a hat-trick twice.
Those four players are:
- Gabriel Omar Batistuta (Argentina) – 1994, 1998
- Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 1954 x2
- Just Fontaine (France) – 1958 x2
- Gerd Müller (West Germany) – 1970 x2
In a much more exclusive group, only two players have scored hat-tricks in a World Cup final:
- Kylian Mbappe (France) – 2022
- Geoff Hurst (England) – 1966
