“Sometimes in football, you have to score goals.”
It’s four days into the 2026 World Cup and Thierry Henry’s words ring truer than they ever have.
While the overall trophy is the key focus for all 48 teams, the Golden Boot award for the most prolific goalscorer is up for grabs too.
The winner of that award can be unpredictable, as the trophy hasn’t fallen to a player in the tournament’s winning side since 2002, when Ronaldo scored eight for Brazil on their way to a record-breaking fifth World Cup.
No one has bested Just Fontaine’s record-breaking tally in 1958, when the France forward netted 13 times despite the nation losing in their semi-final. But with 16 more teams and 40 more matches than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the stage is set for more goals than ever.
So, how does the race look?
This article will be updated throughout the World Cup
1. Folarin Balogun (U.S.) – 2 goals
Balogun scored two goals in 19 minutes in the USMNT’s 4-1 victory over Paraguay to take an early lead in the race for the World Cup Golden Boot.
He sidefooted home a cross from Christian Pulisic to score his first goal in the 31st minute, while the 24-year-old’s second goal came after he received a pass from Malik Tillman, put Paraguay defender Omar Alderete on the floor and blasted a shot with his weaker left foot high into the opposition net. The former Arsenal striker could have had a hat-trick, but his first goal was disallowed for offside.
Balogun was the star of the show in the USA’s opener (FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Balogun began his career at Arsenal. The striker was prolific in the north London club’s youth team and scored two goals in ten first-team appearances before a successful 2022-23 loan spell at Reims (where he scored 22 goals in 39 games and rivalled Kylian Mbappe for Ligue 1 top scorer) earned him a permanent move to Monaco in the summer of 2023.
Since pledging his international allegiance to the U.S and making his debut in June 2023, he has scored 11 goals in 23 games for the side.
=2. Kai Havertz (Germany) – 2 goals
Havertz scored twice in Germany’s World Cup opener against Cucaraco; his first a penalty to put his side 3-1 up in first-half added time and his second a chipped finish late on to cap the 7-1 victory.
Havertz was one of six German goalscorers against Curacao (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
The Arsenal forward will have chances to add to his tally in Germany’s remaining Group E games, where they face tougher opposition in Ivory Coast and Ecuador, who conceded only five goals in 18 South American qualifying matches.
=3. 22 players – 1 goal
- Raul Jimenez (Mexico)
- Julian Quinones (Mexico)
- Hwang In-beom (South Korean)
- Oh Hyeon-gyu (South Korea)
- Ladislav Krejci (Czech Republic)
- Cyle Larin (Canada)
- Jovo Lukic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Gio Reyna (USA)
- Mauricio (Paraguay)
- Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
- Boualem Khoukhi (Qatar)
- Vinicius Junior (Brazil)
- Ismael Saibari (Morocco)
- John McGinn (Scotland)
- Nestory Irankunda (Australia)
- Connor Metclafe (Australia)
- Nathaniel Brown (Germany)
- Nico Schlotterbeck (Germany)
- Felix Nmecha (Germany)
- Deniz Undaz (Germany)
- Jamal Musiala (Germany)
- Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands)
- Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands)
- Daichi Kamada (Japan)
- Keito Nakamura (Japan)
Who are among the favourites this year?
France’s Kylian Mbappe and England’s Harry Kane arrive at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico as the only two men playing to have won the award before.
Mbappe has enjoyed a prolific year with Real Madrid, scoring 25 in La Liga and 15 in the Champions League over 42 games in total. He also scored against Brazil in a March friendly to take his international tally to 56, one behind France’s all-time leader Olivier Giroud with 57.
Kane has similarly been on fine form for club and country. The Bayern Munich striker scored 36 goals on his way to winning the 2025-26 Bundesliga, the most of anyone in Europe’s top leagues, also netting 14 in the Champions League.
The 32-year-old is England’s main attacking threat and has registered five for his country over this campaign too.
Erling Haaland of Norway won the Premier League’s Golden Boot award this year, registering 27 for Manchester City as they mounted a title charge against Arsenal, eventually finishing second, and will look to extend his form in Norway’s first World Cup since 1998.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has had a strong season with Inter Miami, scoring 12 in 14 Major League Soccer appearances so far this season after winning the 2025 MLS Golden Boot award (29). He scored seven in the 2022 World Cup as Argentina went on to win the tournament.
Previous men’s Golden Boot winners
The award came into play as the ‘Golden Shoe’ in 1982, though the top scorer has been unofficially recognised since the 1930s.
In 2022, Mbappe became only the second man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, but unlike Geoff Hurst for England in 1966, he was not part of the winning team. The France striker’s eight goals tied him with Brazil’s Ronaldo in 2002 for the most at a single World Cup.
Four years earlier, Kane collected the award with six goals as his England side reached the semi-finals, where they lost to Croatia.
Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final in 2022 (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Here are the players who scored the most goals at each World Cup.
- 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
What happens if multiple players finish on the same goal tally?
Since 1992, the ranking if goals are tied has been decided by the most assists.
This happened in 2010 when Spain’s David Villa, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and the Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder all had the same number of goals as Muller (5). The Germany legend won the award, however, as he had provided three assists, which was more than the one managed by the other contenders.
In 2006, a further tiebreak was introduced if assists are the same too, giving the honour to the player who scored their goals in the fewest minutes.
