There’s a battle within the war that has kept the World Cup fans engrossed at this year’s showpiece event. And it’s about the Golden Boot.
Who will finish as the top scorer of this World Cup? The early pace-setters have sprinted off the blocks like men possessed and it has only added to the charm of the Cup.
On Monday, after Lionel Messi scored two goals against Austria to set the World Cup record and Kylian Mbappe kept pace in the career chase with two from the Iraq match, Erling Haaland delivered another dazzling performance on a showcase day for the tournament’s top stars as he netted a double against Senegal.
Overall, Messi leads the chart with five goals, followed by Mbappe and Haaland, who are on four each.
It is the first World Cup since 1954 where three players have scored four or more times after two matches. That club can get a new member if England’s Harry Kane, who has two goals in his bag, has a fruitful outing against Ghana.
And how can Cristiano Ronaldo be left behind? The Portuguese star has also joined the race with two goals in his team's 5-0 win over Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
Messi is now the World Cup’s career scoring leader with 18 goals. Mbappe is pursuing him at a feverish pace with 16 goals, a number which tied him with former record holder Miroslav Klose.
Haaland, playing in his first World Cup, is not in that race. Norway last qualified for the World Cup in 1998 — two years before he was born. But Haaland can’t be ignored in the long run. The 25-year-old is just the sixth player to score multiple goals in each of his first two World Cup appearances. He has a remarkable tally of 59 goals in 52 games for Norway.
The Golden Boot, however, is not the only piece of prestige that these super strikers are after. They must have their sights set on France’s Just Fontaine’s 1958 record of 13 goals scored in one tournament.
Only three players — Fontaine, Gerd Muller for Germany in 1970 and Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis in 1954 — have ever hit double figures at a single World Cup.
By the end of the 2026 World Cup, that list will probably have new names on it.
Publicly, they wouldn’t like to talk about it, perhaps. Like Mbappe, on Monday, said: “It (Golden Boot) is not something I’m thinking about right now. Leo always scores. He always has and always will. If I start watching him, I’ll feel like I have to do even more, so no, I don’t watch what he’s doing. I’m only thinking about helping my team —by helping the team, I score goals and get closer to that kind of level.”
Norway coach Stale Solbakken wants his boy, Haaland, to do it. “He is the best striker... he is not playing for France or Argentina, he scores for Norway. It’s easier to win the Golden Boot when you play for France and Argentina, but we’ll try to give Erling more games, and more help also in the next games.”
The race for excellence promises to reach an unprecedented high this time.
