Messi leads the way with five goals after netting his first World Cup hat-trick in the opening game and a brace in the next.
By Kehinde Okeowo
The battle for the “Golden Boot” of the 2026 World Cup seems to be shaping up among three of the marquee strikers at the tournament.
After just two matches, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Norway’s Erling Haaland, and France’s Kylian Mbappé are the front-runners for the highly coveted award.
The trio are the only players to have scored four goals or more in the matches they have played so far in the tournament.
Messi leads the way with five goals after netting his first World Cup hat-trick in the defending champions’ 3-0 beating of North African side, Algeria.
The 39-year-old forward followed it up with a record-breaking brace in the 2-0 win over Austria on Monday.
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Haaland is just a goal shy of the Argentine captain, after netting braces against Iraq and Senegal for Norway in their two group games.
With this feat, the Manchester City striker became his country’s all-time top scorer at the World Cup.
Mbappé also has four goals to his name, having scored twice against both the Teranga Lions and the Lions of Mesopotamia.
The Real Madrid striker is now the fourth player to score two or more goals in at least three successive FIFA World Cup appearances, joining Sándor Kocsis in 1954 (a run of four), Guillermo Stábile in 1930, and Messi in 2026.
Meanwhile, Mbappé and Haaland are set to go head-to-head in the final Group I game, which will decide who finishes top of the group.
