June 16, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.; Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after the match. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

We are almost a week into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and that means it is the perfect time to start looking at one of the big stories from this tournament every four years.

The chase for the Golden Boot.

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The 2026 World Cup could see history, given the presence of Kylian Mbappe. In the history of this event, no player has ever won the Golden Boot twice. After winning the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup, Mbappe could become the first player to achieve that feat, if he were to win again this year.

Mbappe’s brace against Senegal got his campaign for a second Golden Boot off to a strong start, but Lionel Messi’s hat trick against Algeria put the Argentina legend atop the list after his opening match.

Here are the current standings in the chase for the Golden Boot. You will note that assists and minutes played are listed, as those are the two tiebreakers in determining the winner of the Golden Boot. In the case of ties, the player with the most assists is ranked ahead.

Should there still be a tie, the player with the fewest minutes played is ranked ahead.

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Update: Mbappé’s brace against Sweden has moved him into first place … for the moment.

Update (Friday, July 3): Messi became the first player in the 2026 FIFA World Cup to reach seven goals, with this early strike against Cabo Verde

Update (Sunday, July 5): Following his brace against Norway, Erling Haaland is tied with Mbappé and Messi with seven goals.

Update (Tuesday, July 7): Messi’s left-footed volley against Egypt moved him to eight goals, and he also picked up an assist in that match.

Update (Thursday, July 9): Mbappé’s goal against Morocco moved him back into the lead … for now.

Update (Saturday, July 11): Jude Bellingham’s brace against Norway moved the England star into the Golden Boot mix.

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Join the discussion each Match Day over on The Feed!

Note: Table last updated following England-Norway on July 11. In addition, the list has been trimmed to players with two goals or more. For the full list you can see the FIFA website.