World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane in epic battle to be top goalscorer

Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have kept up the pace in what is shaping up to be one of the most hotly-contested World Cup Golden Boot battles in memory.

The superstars are delivering on the biggest stage of them all and are setting a blistering pace in the race to be the 2026 tournament's top goalscorer.

Messi heads the field with five goals from two games after his double against Austria secured Argentina a 2-0 victory.

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Mbappe and Haaland are just behind Messi with four goals after doubles of their own in respective wins for France and Norway.

It is the first World Cup since since 1954 - and only the second tournament in history - where three players have scored four or more times after two matches, and Harry Kane could join them with two goals for England against Ghana on Tuesday evening.

How the race for the Golden Boot stands...

Could more records tumble?

Miroslav Klose started the tournament out in front on the all-time World Cup goalscoring chart with 16 goals.

Two games in and Messi is now two ahead with 18, while Mbappe has pulled level with the Germany striker, whose international career spanned the World Cups from 2002 to 2014.

Haaland is now Norway's leading goalscorer at World Cups after just two games, while one more Kane goal would see him go past Gary Lineker as England's top World Cup scorer.

All four players will be targeting Just Fontaine's 1958 record of 13 goals in a single tournament.

Only three players in World Cup history - Fontaine, Germany's Gerd Muller in 1970 and Hungary's Sandor Kocsis in 1954 - have ever hit double figures at a single tournament.

At the current rate of scoring at this tournament, three or more players could do it this summer!

Will anyone else join the party?

The big question is: will anyone else gatecrash the Golden Boot party?

After the exploits of Messi, Mbappe and Haaland, Kane (two goals) has his chance to get in the mix against Ghana.

Like Mbappe, the England captain, whose overall World Cup goal tally stands at 10, has the chance to become the first striker to win multiple Golden Boots.

Spain's Lamine Yamal (one goal) got his tournament up and running with a goal against Saudi Arabia, while Cristiano Ronaldo is yet to trouble the scorers for Portugal - but there are still plenty of games left for them to mount a challenge.

Mikel Oyarzabal was the scorer of the winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2024 final and the Real Sociedad forward has made a fast start with two goals in his country's thrashing of Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Deniz Undav was a rank outsider before the finals kicked off but the Stuttgart forward already has three goals, and could be a surprise contender if Germany go far. Netherland's Cody Gakpo (two) also has a good scoring record at major tournaments.

Brazil duo Vinicius Junior and Matheus Cunha (both two) will also be targeting a few more goals.

The Real Madrid star struck a fabulous goal to rescue a point for Brazil in their opener against Morocco and his goalscoring is likely to be key as the five-time winners continue to struggle for rhythm at the finals.

Then there is the challenge from the host nations' forwards. Could Canada's Jonathan David (three) and USA's Folarin Balogun (two) get enough games to fire themselves into contention?

Canada's hopes of a long run are perhaps dimmer than the other two host nations, but, following his hat-trick against Qatar, it would be unwise to dismiss David's prospects. With two goals in the United States' first two games, former Arsenal striker Balogun is the focal point for what could be an historic run for Mauricio Pochettino's co-hosts.

The problem for the rest is Messi, Mbappe and Haaland, and potentially Kane, show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Who will win the Golden Boot? Have your say...

(c) Sky Sports 2026: World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane in epic battle to be top goalscorer