World Cup goal leaders: Kylian Mbappé overtakes Lionel Messi in Golden Boot race

The stars have been out at the 2026 World Cup. We're now in the knockout rounds, and the tournament's top scorers are distancing themselves from the pack.

We've been tracking the race for the Golden Boot, the award that's given to the World Cup's top goal scorer. Assists are used as a tiebreaker if two or more players have the same goal total.

Kylian Mbappé added another brace in the Round of 32 against Sweden after his first two braces against Senegal and Iraq. He's now leading the Golden Boot race due to his two assists.

Lionel Messi added to his tally late in group play last Saturday night with a sublime free kick from outside the box. It was his sixth of the tournament after a hat trick in Argentina's opener against Algeria and then a brace against Austria. He'll have a chance to add to his tally against Cape Verde on Friday.

As of the end of the group stage, there were just five players with four or more goals.

(Note: Players whose teams have been eliminated from the tournament are not in the list below.)

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2026 World Cup Golden Boot race

Norway's Erling Haaland is just one goal behind Mbappé and Messi after his efforts on Tuesday. Haaland found the back of the net in the final moments of Norway's Round of 32 win over Ivory Coast.

Messi, Ousmane Dembélé and Canada's Jonathan David have authored hat tricks. Messi's came in Argentina's opener against Algeria, Dembélé's took place in rapid fashion on Friday versus Norway and David's three-goal showcase arrived amid Canada's first-ever World Cup win, a 6-0 trouncing of Qatar.

We'll be monitoring the Golden Boot race throughout the tournament on this page, so bookmark it and come back to see who's in front.