FIFA has determined that France captain Kylian Mbappe leads Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the Adidas Golden Boot competition despite scoring the same amount of goals after the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup.
Mbappe recaptured the top place after scoring his eighth goal of the tournament in France’s quarterfinal win against Morocco, bringing his total to eight goals and three assists.
Messi has eight goals but two assists behind the French attacker, putting the Argentina captain in second place.
Erling Haaland of Norway is third with seven goals after scoring twice against Brazil in the quarter-finals, while England’s Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have six goals and one assist each.
France winger Ousmane Dembele is sixth with five goals and two assists, while Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr, Mexico’s Julian Quinones, Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, and Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal all have four goals.
According to a statement posted on FIFA’s website on Sunday, the Golden Boot will be presented to the tournament’s highest scorer.
“If two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists (as determined by the members of the FIFA Technical Study Group) shall be decisive.
“If two or more players are still equal after taking into account the number of assists, the total minutes played in the tournament will be taken into account, with the player playing fewer minutes ranked first,” the football body said.
Mbappe has played fewer minutes than Messi.
Top 10 ADIDAS Golden Boot standings after the quarter-finals:
Kylian Mbappe (France) – 8 goals, 3 assists
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 goals, 2 assists
Erling Haaland (Norway) – 7 goals, 0 assists
Jude Bellingham (England) – 6 goals, 1 assist
Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals, 1 assist
Ousmane Dembele (France) – 5 goals, 2 assists
Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) – 4 goals, 1 assist
Julian Quinones (Mexico) – 4 goals, 1 assist
Vinicius Junior (Brazil) – 4 goals, 1 assist
Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 4 goals, 1 assist
