The race for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot is alive and well. Although Kylian Mbappe was knocked out by Spain in the semifinals, he could still add goals to his personal tally when France play next in the third-place match. However, Lionel Messi is now set for a direct duel with two strong contenders for the scoring title: Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
With Mbappe set to play in the third-place match, he could extend his scoring form at the 2026 World Cup. He was stopped by the Spanish defense, but he could enter the final game with some pent-up anger. As for Messi, he will go head to head with two elite scorers in Kane and Bellingham.
The winner will face Spain in the World Cup final. The losers will face Mbappe and France in the consolation match. Needless to say, the stakes are high for Messi, Kane, and Bellingham, both on a collective and individual level.
Leading goalscorers table
As it stands, Mbappe and Messi are tied at the top of the 2026 World Cup goalscoring chart with eight tallies each. Erling Haaland remains in third place with seven goals, although he can’t add any more tallies to his personal account.
Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina
As for Kane and Bellingham, the English duo have combined for 12 goals, with six each. They have two more games left, like Messi, so they could very well move ahead of Haaland in the standings—and why not even overtake Messi and Mbappe as well?
| Pos. / Player | Goals |
| 1. Lionel Messi | 8 |
| 1. Kylian Mbappe | 8 |
| 3. Erling Haaland | 7 |
| 4. Harry Kane | 6 |
| 4. Jude Bellingham | 6 |
Who have they scored against?
Against Spain, Mbappe was held scoreless for the second time at the 2026 World Cup. This time, however, his team couldn’t push through. For the first time since 2014, France won’t be going to a World Cup final. Still, Mbappe put on a show for the ages. Mbappe scored against Senegal (brace), Iraq (brace), Sweden (brace), Paraguay, and Morocco. He had more two-goal games than scoreless outings at the 2026 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Messi has scored a hat trick against Algeria, a brace against Austria, and a goal against Jordan in the group stage. He followed that up with consecutive one-goal performances against Cape Verde and Egypt in the Round of 32 and Round of 16.
Lastly, Kane scored against Croatia (brace), Panama, DR Congo (brace), and Mexico, while Bellingham did not lose ground. Bellingham scored against Croatia, Panama, Mexico (brace), and Norway (brace).
