The Golden Boot remains elusive for Messi: Can he still win it at the 2026 World Cup or lose to Mbappe's historic result?

Kylian Mbappe clearly leads the 2026 World Cup race for the Golden Boot. In the match France vs. The 27-year-old scored 10 goals for France in this tournament for England in 3rd place. He also has 4 assists in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Lionel Messi is second with 8 goals for Argentina and also with 4 assists. Jude Bellingham (1 assist) and Erling Haaland (0 assists) follow with 7 goals. Ousmane Dembele rounds out the top five with 6 goals and 1 assist.

Messi still has Argentina’s final against Spain to go. This match offers his last chance to close the gap.

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Mbappe’s tenth goal came in the playoffs for third place. France lost the match 4-6 against England. The goal took his World Cup career tally to 22. This surpassed Messi’s previous record of 21 career goals.

Mbappe has officially become World Cup football’s most prolific goalscorer. His performance throughout his career has been remarkable. He scored 22 goals in just 22 matches at the World Cup. Messi, on the other hand, needed 31 games to reach 21.

Mbappe’s 10 goals also ended a lengthy all-time goal drought. He became the first player with 10+ goals in a single tournament since 1970. West Germany’s Gerd Muller previously achieved the rare feat.

Mbappe also broke the record for non-penalty goals at the World Cup. His strike took him to a total of 19 clean sheets. This broke Messi’s previous record of 17 such goals.

In addition to scoring, Mbappe also contributed heavily with assists. He added 4 assists to 10 goals. This gives him a total of 14 goal contributions this tournament.

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This number is the highest singles total in 60 years. No other player has achieved that combined scoring output in recent memory.

Mbappé is now on the verge of another history. If Messi fails to overtake him in the final, Mbappe gets another Golden Boot. He would become the first player to win twice. His first Golden Boot came during the 2022 tournament.

Recent Golden Boot winners include Kylian Mbappe himself in 2022. Harry Kane won it in 2018 with 6 goals. James Rodriguez claimed it in 2014, also with 6 goals.

Can Messi still win the Golden Boot?

The golden boot is awarded to the best scorer of the tournament. In case of equality of goals, they decide on the winner of the assist. The number of assists is determined by FIFA’s technical study group.

If the assists are also tied, minutes played will decide. The player with fewer minutes on the field is ranked higher.

Kylian Mbappe has played 769 minutes in 8 matches so far. Lionel Messi played 712 minutes in 7 games instead. The French campaign is over, so Mbappe’s tally is firm.

Messi’s minutes will increase during the final against Spain. Fewer minutes played decide the equality of goals and assists. Mbappe currently leads Messi by 57 minutes. If Messi scores 2 goals to match Mbappe, the timing is tricky.

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The GOAT would only win in minutes if he was substituted before 56 minutes. Should Messi play the full final (he surely will), he will surpass Mbappe’s total minutes.

Leo needs to be completely outnumbered to win the Golden Boot. That means he needs either a hat trick or two goals plus an assist to win the award. That seems unlikely in a high-pressure match like the final. But he is Messi. So you never know.

Messi, with all the trophies in the world, never won the Golden Boot. However, he has 2 Ballon d’Ors which he won in 2014 and 2022.