The 2026 World Cup isn’t even out of the group stage yet, and the Golden Boot race is already something you’d tell your grandkids about. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland have combined for 13 goals in the first two games each, and none of them look ready to slow down.
Messi leads the pack with five goals. He opened with a hat-trick against Algeria, then followed it up with a brace against Austria. That gives him 18 career World Cup goals, which is now the all-time record. He passed Miroslav Klose by two. And the thing is, he’s not just padding stats against weak opponents. Algeria and Austria are both solid sides, and Messi made them look like training cones.
Right on his heels is Mbappé with four goals. The Frenchman bagged a brace in a monsoon against Iraq on Monday, and he’s now just two goals behind Messi on the all-time World Cup scoring list. You have to wonder if he’s been watching the record books or if he just naturally goes supernova in these tournaments. Probably the latter.
Then there’s Haaland. Also on four goals. The guy had never scored a World Cup goal before this tournament, and now he’s already Norway’s all-time top scorer at the World Cup after just two games. He put two past Iraq in the opener and two more against Senegal. Let that sink in. He’s matching Messi and Mbappé goal for goal while dragging a historically non-elite Norwegian team through the tournament. That’s absurd.
What about the others?
It’s not just a three-man show. Deniz Undav has quietly piled up three goals and two assists for Germany despite playing only about an hour total across two games. The former Brighton forward is basically scoring every time he touches the ball. Jonathan David of Canada also has three goals, including a hat-trick against Qatar. He went quiet against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the damage is done.
Harry Kane is sitting on two goals, but he’s only played one game. England has Ghana and Panama coming up in the group stage. If he stays on the pitch, he’ll likely be in the mix by the end of the week. Kane doesn’t miss chances against teams like that.
Argentina, France, and Norway have all clinched spots in the round of 32. Their managers could rotate and rest their stars. But something tells me Messi, Mbappé, and even Haaland won’t want to sit out. This is a Golden Boot race that could define careers. And honestly, it’s already delivering.
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