Messi Leads World Cup Golden Boot Race as Mbappe, Haaland Chase Record

Argentine football icon Lionel Messi has continued to dominate the World Cup scoring charts, with 18 goals across six tournaments, while a new generation of stars including Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland push to close the gap.

Messi, who added five goals in two matches in the United States, has been the standout player of the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States, scoring all of Argentina’s goals so far.

His performance has raised questions over whether France’s Just Fontaine’s long-standing single-tournament record of 13 goals, set in 1958, could finally be broken.

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The last player to reach double figures in a World Cup was Germany’s Gerd Müller, who scored 10 goals at the 1970 tournament in Mexico.

Messi’s closest challengers are Mbappé and Haaland, who both have four goals. Mbappé, who won the Golden Boot after scoring eight goals at the 2022 World Cup, remains a major threat as France continues its campaign.

Haaland has also impressed, extending his remarkable international scoring record for Norway, but the Manchester City striker played down his achievements, saying he is simply fortunate to score goals.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo made history by becoming the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments after finding the net twice in Portugal’s win over Uzbekistan.

England captain Harry Kane, who won the Golden Boot in 2018, currently has two goals as he continues his search for more.

With several elite forwards still competing, the race for the tournament’s top scorer remains wide open.