Golden Boot Race Heats Up Ahead of the Quarter-Finals
After several highly dramatic Round of 16 matches, we have now reached the quarter-finals of this summer's World Cup. Although we have seen many impressive performances from the African teams, as well as from the North and South American sides, it is still clear that the European teams continue to dominate, with six of the eight quarter-finalists coming from Europe.
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Erling Haaland's two goals against Brazil have taken him up to second place in the scoring chart
Here we go through the top of the scoring chart after the Round of 16, and it has developed into a battle between four of perhaps the best forwards in the world right now.
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Lionel Messi, Argentina
1. Lionel Messi - 8 Goals
Lionel Messi scored one of Argentina's goals in their remarkable comeback against Egypt, where they recovered from a 2-0 deficit in the final 15 minutes of the match and won 3-2.However, it was not all positive from a goalscoring perspective for Messi in this match. In the 21st minute, with Egypt leading 1-0, he missed a penalty. It was a surprisingly weak penalty from him, which Egypt's goalkeeper was able to save comfortably once he had chosen the right corner. The remarkable thing was that this was the second penalty he has missed at this World Cup. Lautaro Martínez converted Argentina's penalty in the match against Jordan, when Messi was on the bench, and the question is whether Messi will take the next penalty if they get another one.
Either way, Messi would get his revenge, first setting up Argentina's 2-1 goal against Egypt and then scoring the equaliser himself via the crossbar. It was his eighth goal at this World Cup, and with that he reclaimed the outright lead in the scoring chart.
Messi's goal in the match against Egypt means that he has scored in all five of Argentina's matches at this World Cup, and it was his 21st World Cup goal in total, a record he still holds ahead of everyone else.
Kylian Mbappé, France
2. Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland - 7 Goals
France had a very tough match in their Round of 16 tie against Paraguay, both in terms of the scoreline and the play itself. South American football can be borderline brutal, at least in the eyes of the rest of the world, and Paraguay really showed that in this match.Paraguay knew beforehand that they could not outplay France, so the game plan was clear: keep a clean sheet throughout the match and do it through extremely physical play to disrupt and irritate the French as much as possible. It was also a game plan that almost held, right up until midway through the second half, when France were awarded a penalty after a VAR review.
The penalty was naturally taken by Kylian Mbappé, and he made no mistake from the spot. Mbappé's penalty goal was the only goal of the match, and it was his seventh goal of the tournament, placing him joint second in the scoring chart. It also took him to 19 goals in World Cup finals tournaments in total.
Another player who has scored seven goals so far is Norway's Erling Haaland. Norway had a very tough task in their Round of 16 match as they took on Brazil, the most successful nation in World Cup history with five titles. Although Brazil have historically been the world's best national team, they do not quite have the same quality of players today, which made the match difficult to call beforehand.
Brazil had a few golden chances to take the lead, including a missed penalty by Bruno Guimarães in the 14th minute, but Norway also had their opportunities. The match remained goalless until the 79th minute, and that was when Haaland stepped up for Norway.
First, Haaland headed in 1-0 for Norway from a fine cross by substitute Andreas Schjelderup, but he was not finished there. When the clock had reached 90 minutes, and Brazil were desperately looking for an equalising chance, he struck again. Once again from a Schjelderup pass, Haaland fired the ball through the legs of a Brazilian defender and beyond the goalkeeper, inside the left post.
Haaland is therefore very much in the fight for the Golden Boot at this World Cup, and he is feared by England, who await next in the quarter-final. The English naturally know him well, since he plays for Manchester City, so they know what is coming.
Harry Kane, England
4. Harry Kane - 6 Goals
England's Harry Kane is also still in the race, even though he has "only" managed to score six goals ahead of the quarter-final. He is still very much within reach of the top.England had a very difficult task ahead of them in their Round of 16 match, as they were facing one of the host nations, Mexico, at their enormous Azteca Stadium. The arena sits at more than 2,241 metres above sea level, an altitude that makes it tough to maintain energy over a full match, and on top of that Mexico had won four straight matches on their way to this meeting.
But England would get the job done, even though it became very tough and hard-fought right to the finish. It was not Kane who took the main role in this match, however. Instead, it was Jude Bellingham who stepped up.
Within two minutes, Bellingham scored twice, giving England a 2-0 lead after 38 minutes played. Mexico would reduce the deficit before half-time, and the match became even more uncertain when Jarell Quansah was shown a red card in the 54th minute. That was when Kane entered the story.
Anthony Gordon was brought down in the penalty area by Mexico's goalkeeper and England were awarded a penalty. Kane is a reliable penalty taker, which he showed again, and he was able to score his sixth goal of the tournament. Even though the goalkeeper guessed the right corner, Kane's penalty was hit so hard that he was never close to saving it.
Mexico reduced the deficit again through a Raúl Jiménez penalty, but a fiercely battling England side, who spent the final quarter of an hour simply clearing the ball into Mexico's half, held on and went through.
Other Players in the Top-Scorer Race
Behind these four superstars, there are three players on four goals who, at least in theory, still have a chance of becoming the World Cup's top scorer, even if it is of course difficult to make up four goals on Messi. But for the teams that make it through from the quarter-finals, there are still three matches left to play, so it is certainly not completely impossible.- Jude Bellingham, England - as we have already mentioned, he scored twice in the latest match and is clearly in fine form. He is always a goal threat and is good at drifting into the penalty area unmarked when many defenders are focused on Kane.
- Mikel Oyarzabal, Spain - he missed a one-on-one chance against Portugal and failed to score in that match. However, he has scored twice in a match on two occasions and could certainly do it again.
- Ousmane Dembélé, France - scored a hat-trick against Norway in the group stage and has scored only one goal apart from that. With Mbappé being the player primarily responsible for the goalscoring, he is the least likely of these three candidates to climb further towards the top.
How the World Cup 2026 Quarter-Finals Will Be Played
Yesterday was the first day without matches at this World Cup, but the first quarter-final is already being played today. Notably, all eight remaining matches, including the third-place play-off and the final, will be played in the United States, meaning Canada's and Mexico's roles as host nations are now over.Here is the upcoming schedule:
- France vs Morocco - today 22:00 CEST (16:00 local time), played at Boston Stadium (Gillette Stadium) in Foxborough, just outside Boston
- Spain vs Belgium - Friday 21:00 CEST (12:00 local time), played at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood
- Norway vs England - Saturday 23:00 CEST (17:00 local time), played at Miami Stadium (Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens
- Argentina vs Switzerland - Sunday 03:00 CEST (Saturday 20:00 local time), played at Kansas City Stadium (Arrowhead Stadium)
It is worth noting that since Norway face England, either Erling Haaland or Harry Kane will be out of the tournament, and naturally the player who is eliminated will no longer be able to win the Golden Boot.