جائزة الحذاء الذهبي لكأس العالم 2026: ليونيل ميسي يتفوق على كيليان مبابي وإيرلينغ هالاند بينما يتطلع هاري كين إلى تسجيل المزيد من الأهداف

The race is well and truly on for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot.

The prize recognises individual excellence on football’s biggest international stage, tracking goals scored throughout the tournament.

Kylian Mbappe could not get his hands on the World Cup trophy last year, but he did secure the Golden BootGetty

FIFA rebranded the accolade from the Golden Shoe to the Golden Boot in the 2010 edition and that’s not the only change it’s undergone.

In 1994, a tiebreaker system was introduced, taking assists into account if players finished level on the same number of successful strikes.

Meanwhile, in 2006 it was implemented that if players cannot be separated via goals or assists, the award is handed to the individual with the fewest minutes on the pitch.

After the name change, Thomas Muller was the first recipient, scoring five times with third place Germany in South Africa.

James Rodriguez announced himself to the world in Brazil, the Colombian securing the 2014 edition.

The second Englishman after Gary Lineker to win the award was Harry Kane as he captained the Three Lions to a World Cup semi-final in Russia.

Most recently, France’s Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick against Argentina in the 2022 showpiece, scoring eight goals at the tournament overall.

So who is going to be the recipient after the final whistle blows in New Jersey as things stand?

talkSPORT.com breaks down the top 16 in the standings.

Kane will be hoping to get his second World Cup Golden BootGetty

Current standings

6= 18 players

Harry Kane (England) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 1 game

Vinicius Junior (Brazil) – 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 games

Ayase Ueda (Japan) – 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 games

Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) – 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 games

Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands) – 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 games

Maximiliano Araujo (Uruguay) – 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 games

Matheus Cunha (Brazil) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Cyle Larin (Canada) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Kai Havertz (Germany) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Daichi Kamada (Japan) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Ismael Saibari (Morocco) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Brian Brobbey (Netherlands) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Elijah Just (New Zealand) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Yasin Ayari (Sweden) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Johan Manzambi (Switzerland) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Folarin Balogun (United States) – 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 games

Vinicius has two goals in two for BrazilGetty

4= Jonathan David (Canada)

Goals: 3
Assists: 0

David became the first Juventus player to score a World Cup hat-trick in 44 years, giving Italians something to cheer about this summer during Canada’s win over Qatar.

Canada’s all-time top scorer has 39 goals in 78 international appearances.

4= Deniz Undav (Germany)

Goals: 3
Assists: 2

An unlikely candidate has emerged, as the Stuttgart forward completely changed Germany’s fortunes as they beat Ivory Coast 2-1.

The victory meant Germany are back in the knockout stages of the international tournamaent after 12 years away.

Meanwhile, Undav stat padded with a goal and two assists during Die Mannschaft’s 7-1 thumping of Curacao in their opening fixture of the tournament.

With three goals scored, Undav is in contention for the Golden BootGetty

2= Erling Haaland (Norway)

Goals: 4
Assists: 0

Haaland is already Norway‘s all-time top goalscorer and wasted no time proving that on the international stage by netting twice in the first half of their opener against Iraq.

He followed that up with another brace in their second group game as Norway beat Senegal 3-2.

Haaland remains one of the world’s most ruthless finishers, having racked up 168 goals in 198 matches since signing for Manchester City.

2= Kylian Mbappe

Goals: 4
Assists: 0

Mbappe won the World Cup at 19, then followed it up as the tournament’s top scorer four years later as France ended up as runners-up in Qatar.

While having some heat on himself at Real Madrid, the 27-year-old still secured 42 goals in 44 appearances for the Spanish giants.

He kicked off the tournament scoring a clinical brace against Senegal, a feat that officially saw him overtake Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time leading marksman and added another two against Iraq.

Mbappe sprung to life in the second half as France beat SenegalGetty

1. Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Goals: 5
Assists: 0

Messi narrowly missed out on the Golden Boot last time at the competition despite winning the big prize.

Argentina’s team is still built around the 38-year-old, and he repaid the unwavering faith shown in him by scoring a hat-trick in their opening fixture, a 3-0 win over Algeria.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner moved passed Miroslav Klose for the all-time record with two goals against Austria in the second game.

Messi is now the all-time World Cup record goalscorerGetty

Check out all the latest World Cup Golden Boot odds with talkSPORT BET