Golden Boot race between Messi, Mbappe intensifies heading into semifinals
Nobody has scored more World Cup goals than Lionel Messi, who is up to 21 heading into Argentina’s Wednesday semifinal against England.
Nobody has more career assists than Messi’s 410. Nobody has won more Ballon d’ Or world player of the year trophies than Messi, who has eight in his collection. And nobody has won more major team trophies than Messi’s 46.
There is just one significant trophy missing from the resume of the 39-year-old Argentine icon and Inter Miami captain: the World Cup Golden Boot.
Four years ago in Qatar, Messi was on the verge of winning it with seven goals, including two in one of the wildest World Cup finals in history; but France forward Kylian Mbappe outdid him with a hat trick in that last game and edged Messi for the Golden Boot with eight goals.
Messi and Argentina lifted the World Cup trophy, the first in Messi’s storied career, but the Frenchman went home with the Golden Boot.
Here we are, once again, with Messi and Mbappe neck and neck in the Golden Boot race with eight goals apiece as the semifinals get underway. France faces Spain in the Dallas semifinal Tuesday, and Argentina plays England in Atlanta on Wednesday.
If France and Argentina win, Messi and Mbappe meet in New York on Sunday in a dream rematch of the 2022 final with the World Cup and Golden Boot on the line.
If they finish tied with the same number of goals, as they have now, Mbappe gets the edge over Messi because the first tiebreaker is total assists. Mbappe has three assists so far and Messi has two.
In 2010, Spain’s David Villa, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan, the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder, and Germany’s Thomas Muller all finished tied with five goals. The German won the award because he recorded three assists, while the other contenders had one.
If, by chance, Mbappe and Messi were to end the tournament with an equal number of goals and assists, the award would go to the player who achieved those goals/assists in the fewest number of minutes.
Heading into last weekend, Norwegian star Erling Haaland was also in the race with seven goals. But England knocked Norway out of the tournament after a dramatic 2-1 victory.
Jude Bellingham scored for England in that game, including the extra-time winner, to reach six goals and match his teammate and captain, Harry Kane. They remain in contention for the Golden Boot, making the final week of the tournament even more riveting.
Messi led the race through the group stages and overtook Mbappe following his goal against Cape Verde in the Round of 32. Mbappe pulled level with Messi after his penalty in the second half of France’s Round of 16 matchup against Paraguay.
Messi retook the lead with an equalizer to tie it 2-2 against Egypt in the Round of 16. Mbappe tied up the Golden Boot race at eight goals apiece with a goal in the second half against Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Coincidentally, both players missed a penalty shot and then scored later in the game during the knockout stage. Messi missed one against Egypt in the round of 16 clash before scoring in the second half. Mbappe failed to convert a PK against Morocco but scored 20 minutes later.
Golden Boot Standings (Heading into Semifinals)
1. Kylian Mbappe (France) — 8 goals, 3 assists, 563 minutes played.
Scored twice in opening 3-1 win against Senegal, twice against Iraq, twice against Sweden in the Round of 32, once against Paraguay from the penalty spot and once against Morocco in the quarterfinal.
2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 8 goals, 2 assists, 607 minutes played
Opened the World Cup with a hat trick against Algeria, scored both goals in a 2-0 win against Austria, scored on a late free kick against Jordan, got his seventh in an exciting win over Cape Verde in the Round of 32 and delivered the late equalizer against Egypt to seal a quarterfinal spot for Argentina.
3. Jude Bellingham (England) — 6 goals, 1 assist, 574 minutes played
Scored in each of England’s two group-stage wins, scored twice in a tense Round-of-32 win against Mexico at Estadio Azteca, and followed that with another brace against Norway in the quarterfinals.
4. Harry Kane (England) — 6 goals, 1 assist, 627 minutes played
The 32-year-old England captain, who won the Golden Boot in 2018 with six goals, scored twice in the 2026 opening win over Croatia. He scored his third against Panama, got a late brace to rescue England against DR Congo, and scored a PK in the Round of 32 against Mexico.
5. Ousmane Dembele (France) — 5 goals, 2 assists, 492 minutes played
Scored four goals in a row for France, the third goal in the 3-0 win over Iraq followed by a first-half hat trick against Norway. He then scored his fifth in the quarterfinal against Morocco.
Golden Boot History
The top scorer in the World Cup has been recognized since 1930, but the award got an official name and trophy, the Golden Shoe, in 1982. In 2010, it was renamed the Golden Boot
In 2022, Mbappe became only the second man to score a hat trick in a World Cup final, but he was not part of the winning team. The other hat trick in a final was by Geoff Hurst for England’s championship 1966 team.
All-time World Cup Scoring Leaders
1930: Guillermo Stabile (Argentina) — 8 goals
1934: Oldrich Nejedly (Czechoslovakia) — 5 goals
1938: Leonidas (Brazil) — 7 goals
1950: Ademir (Brazil) — 8 goals
1954: Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) — 11 goals
1958: Just Fontaine (France) — 13 goals
1962: Florian Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (Soviet Union), Garrincha (Brazil), Vava (Brazil), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sanchez (Chile) — 4 goals
1966: Eusebio (Portugal) — 9 goals
1970: Gerd Muller (West Germany) — 10 goals
1974: Grzegorz Lato (Poland) — 7 goals
1978: Mario Kempes (Argentina) — 6 goals
1982: Paolo Rossi (Italy) — 6 goals
1986: Gary Lineker (England) – 6 goals
1990: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) — 6 goals
1994: Oleg Salenko (Russia), Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) — 6 goals
1998: Davor Suker (Croatia) — 6 goals
2002: Ronaldo (Brazil) — 8 goals
2006: Miroslav Klose (Germany) — 5 goals
2010: Thomas Muller (Germany) — 5 goals
2014: James Rodriguez (Colombia) — 6 goals
2018: Harry Kane (England) — 6 goals
2022: Kylian Mbappe (France) — 8 goals
This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 3:34 PM.