Top goal scorers at FIFA World Cup 2026: Messi in joint-lead in golden boot’s race; Check full list

3 min readUpdated: Jun 22, 2026 11:40 PM IST

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria in his 200th game for the country. (AP Photo)

The first round of group-stage matches at the FIFA World Cup 2026 was full of action. Stars like Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane all stepped up for their teams. The second round kept that energy going, and the excitement never stopped at the quadrennial event.

Messi lit up the show with three goals against Algeria in Argentina’s opening game, making him the oldest player ever in the history of the tournament to register a hat-trick. The three goals had put him in the joint lead for the race for the Golden Boot. With his 38th minute strike against Austria on Monday, the Argentine now leads the entire field.

Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi scored two goals in Group A to help his team beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 4–1. In the next game,

Juventus striker Jonathan David also scored a brilliant hat-trick in co-hosts Canada’s 6–0 rout of Qatar. This puts him level with Messi at the top of the scoring charts, with both players now on three goals.

ALSO READ | Who has most World Cup goals in history? Messi one goal away from all-time record

Germany’s Deniz Undav makes it a three-way lead at the top of the list after scoring a brace in Germany’s 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. He had also found the back of the net in Germany’s rout 7-0 over Curacao.

Undav also has only 69 minutes of game time to his name, having come in as a substitute for Germany in both matches. In addition to three goals, the German has two assists to his name, both coming against Curacao, as he leads the list of players with the most goal contributions in this tournament.

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As many as 19 players are tied in second place with two goals to their name in this World Cup. The list includes a few big names like Kylian Mbappe, who scored a brace in France’s 2-0 win over Senegal and now has 14 goals in the World Cup. Brazil’s Vinicius Junior & Matheus Cunha, England’s Harry Kane, Norway’s Erling Haaland, Netherlands’ Crysencio Summerville, Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo, Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal and Germany’s Kai Havertz are among the few players who have scored two goals in this World Cup so far.

Check the complete list of the top leading goal scorers at this World Cup:

Top goalscorers in FIFA World Cup 2026

RANK

PLAYER

COUNTRY

GOALS SCORED

MINUTES PLAYED

1

Lionel Messi

Argentina

4

45*

2

Deniz Undav

Germany

3

69

T2

Jonathan David

Canada

3

170

3

Crysencio Summerville

Netherlands

2

123

T3

Mikel Oyarzabal

Spain

2

149

T3

Maxi Araujo

Uruguay

2

173

T3

Ayase Ueda

Japan

2

174

T3

Cody Gakpo

Netherlands

2

183

T3

Vinicius Junior

Brazil

2

190

T3

Johan Manzambi

Switzerland

2

58

T3

Brian Brobbey

Netherlands

2

88

T3

Harry Kane

England

2

102

T3

Erling Haaland

Norway

2

103

T3

Kylian Mbappe

France

2

105

T3

Matheus Cunha

Brazil

2

108

T3

Cyle Larin

Canada

2

125

T3

Daichi Kamada

Japan

2

176

T3

Folarin Balogun

USA

2

179

T3

Ismael Saibari

Morocco

2

180

T3

Yasin Ayari

Sweden

2

183

T3

Elijah Just

New Zealand

2

190

T3

Kai Havertz

Germany

2

192

(Table updated after New Zealand vs Egypt FIFA World Cup 2026 match)