As the FIFA World Cup 2026 moves into the knockout stages, the battle for the tournament's top scorer award is intensifying. Argentine great Lionel Messi and French superstar Kylian Mbappe are locked in a tight race at the top of the scoring charts.

Norway's Erling Haaland and Brazil's Vinicius Junior are also in hot pursuit. FIFA's Golden Boot is awarded to the player with the most goals at the end of the tournament. Mbappe is the current holder, having scored eight goals in Qatar in 2022.

If two players are tied on goals, the winner is determined by the most assists. If still tied, the player who achieved their goals and assists in the fewest minutes wins.

Mbappe, Harry Kane, and James Rodriguez are all aiming to win the award for a second time. Kane won in 2018 in Russia, while Rodriguez was top scorer in 2014 in Brazil. No player has ever won the Golden Boot more than once.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo can still win the Golden Boot, but he needs to start scoring more. The veteran has scored twice at this tournament, both in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in the group stage.

The record for most goals in a single World Cup is held by France's Just Fontaine, who scored an incredible 13 goals in 1958. Sandor Kocsis scored 11 in 1954, while West Germany's Gerd Muller bagged 10 in 1970.

Source: www.aljazeera.com