The World Cup’s biggest stars are here to remind us what high performance looks like.
Just as superstar engineers are dominating the biggest jobs in AI, so too are soccer’s top players taking the World Cup by storm. With the tournament’s superstars on a scoring streak, it looks increasingly likely that this year’s World Cup will feature the most prolific top goalscorer in a generation.
Three players are tied on seven goals each, with up to four games left to play.
For perspective, over the previous 22 tournaments, the Golden Boot winner has averaged 7.1 goals. If we see a double-digit winner this year, it would be the first since West Germany’s Gerd Müller scored 10 in 1970.
With 269 goals across 92 matches so far this year, that’s on track to be the highest average number of goals scored since 1970.
It’s worth noting that this year’s event comes with additional scoring opportunities, as the 2026 World Cup is the largest ever. It has been expanded from 32 teams in every tournament since 1998 to 48 this year, which means there’s an extra round of games.
It’s shaping up to be a big win for FIFA, amid hopes that an exciting tournament could help the sport grow in the US, with its bags of money and enthusiasm for live entertainment. It also comes as the tournament takes the title of the most expensive World Cup on record, with fans dishing out thousands of dollars and going to extreme measures to see their teams play across North America.
Below, we broke down how many goals the winner of the Golden Boot has scored at each tournament since 1930.
There were no tournaments held in 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War. France’s Just Fontaine set the record for most goals scored in a World Cup in 1958, with 13 goals in six games.
The World Cup’s top scorers so far
Lionel Messi is leading the way, as he has reached seven goals in four games — one fewer game than his fellow high-scorers, with Argentina’s next game scheduled for Tuesday.
The 39-year-old kicked off his campaign with a hat trick against Algeria and has scored in every game so far.
However, Polymarket odds suggest that France’s Kylian Mbappé is the favorite for the Golden Boot, the award given to the tournament’s highest scorer. He’s on 49% compared to Messi’s 12%.
More of our World Cup coverage:
Mbappé was the top scorer at the previous World Cup thanks to a hat trick in the final. He almost single-handedly brought France back from the brink, but Argentina won the penalty shootout.
Erling Haaland has also scored seven goals, including both of Norway’s in their 2-1 victory over Brazil on Sunday. He’s 6’5, 200 lbs, and plays soccer like a marauding Viking, chasing down the ball and bullying his way past defenders. The next round will be his country’s first time in a World Cup quarterfinal.
Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Finally, Harry Kane of England is waiting in the wings with six goals. That’s the same tally he achieved when he won the Golden Boot in 2018, but he’s reached a new peak this year.
Many are tipping him for the Ballon d’Or, awarded to the world’s best player each season, after scoring 72 goals in 62 games for club and country. He would be the first Englishman to receive the accolade in 25 years.
The next World Cup won’t be for another four years. Some of the sport’s biggest stars will have retired. There may not be nearly as many goals.
Enjoy it while you can.
