Related videos:
Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi share the lead in the scoring table of the with eight goals each, but the French forward takes the top spot due to FIFA's tiebreaker criteria: the number of assists.
Mbappé has a total of three assists compared to Messi's two, giving him a provisional advantage as the tournament heads into the semifinals, the third-place match, and the final.
The award for the tournament's top scorer, established in 1982, is decided in the event of a tie in goals by first giving priority to the player with the most assists and, if the tie persists, to the one who needed the fewest minutes to reach that number.
The third place in the rankings goes to Erling Haaland, who concluded his participation in the championship with seven goals following the elimination of Norway against England on Saturday, losing 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
The Norwegian bid farewell to the tournament with a historic performance: he led his team to the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the first time in their history.
"We put Norway on the map," declared Haaland after the defeat.
In fourth and fifth place are the English players Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, both with six goals and one assist.
The Real Madrid midfielder is ahead of his teammate because he reached that figure in fewer minutes. Both will have the opportunity to improve their records when England faces Argentina in the semifinals on Wednesday, July 15.
The sixth place goes to Ousmane Dembélé, with five goals and two assists, a key player in the attack of a France that will seek to qualify for the final against Spain on Tuesday, July 14.
2026 World Cup Scorers Table
- Kylian Mbappé (France): 8 goals and 3 assists.
- Lionel Messi (Argentina): 8 goals and 2 assists.
- Erling Haaland (Norway): 7 goals.
- Jude Bellingham (England): 6 goals and 1 assist.
- Harry Kane (England): 6 goals and 1 assist.
- Ousmane Dembélé (France): 5 goals and 2 assists.
The rivalry between Mbappé and Messi, which was already evident in the final of Qatar 2022, now also extends to the statistical realm.
Messi, 39 years old, is the all-time top scorer in World Cups with 21 goals throughout his career, having surpassed the record set by Miroslav Klose.
Mbappé, for his part, reached 20 historic world goals with his goal against Morocco in the quarter-finals, making him the second highest scorer in the history of the tournament.
Argentina, which defeated Switzerland 3-1 in extra time on Saturday, and France, which eliminated Morocco 2-0 on Thursday, are the teams of both stars and will continue in competition for at least one more match, ensuring that the battle for the Golden Boot will not be decided until the final moments of the World Cup.
Filed under: