As Messi, Mbappé, and Haaland battle it out for the Golden Boot, FIFA’s regulations set out several criteria to break the deadlock in case of a tie.
The race for the top scorer title at the 2026 World Cup promises a thrilling finish. Ahead of the quarterfinals, Lionel Messi is leading the pack with eight goals, just ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, who have both netted seven times. Not far behind are Harry Kane (6 goals), followed by Ousmane Dembélé, Jude Bellingham, and Mikel Oyarzabal (4 goals each), all still in the hunt.
But what happens if several players finish the tournament with the same number of goals? Contrary to popular belief, the Golden Boot is not automatically shared. In fact, the first tiebreaker is the number of assists. At the moment, Mbappé holds the edge with two assists, compared to one for Messi and none for Haaland.
Also read: World Cup 2026: UN also condemns racist remarks targeting Mbappé
If the tie still remains after this initial criterion, FIFA then looks at playing time. The trophy is awarded to the player who has spent the least minutes on the pitch, thereby rewarding the best scoring efficiency. Finally, if no difference can be found after these two criteria, the Golden Boot will be shared among the tied players.
The full ranking of top scorers ahead of the quarterfinals:
RankPlayerTeamGoalsAssistsStatus1Lionel MessiArgentina81Qualified for quarters (vs Switzerland)2Kylian MbappéFrance72Qualified for quarters (vs Morocco)3Erling HaalandNorway70Qualified for quarters (vs England)4Harry KaneEngland61Qualified for quarters (vs Norway)5Jude BellinghamEngland40Qualified for quarters (vs Norway)6Ousmane DembéléFrance42Qualified for quarters (vs Morocco)7Mikel OyarzabalSpain41Qualified for quarters (vs Belgium)8Ismaïla SarrSenegal40Eliminated in round of 169Julián QuiñonesMexico40Eliminated in round of 1610Vinícius JúniorBrazil40Eliminated in round of 16
Which quarterfinal are you looking forward to the most?All matches > pic.twitter.com/kjEDHSx3Js
— L’Équipe (@lequipe) July 8, 2026
Piala Dunia 2026
Piala Dunia FIFA 2026 akan menjadi edisi paling revolusioner dalam sejarah sepak bola dunia. Turnamen ini untuk pertama kalinya akan diselenggarakan di tiga negara sekaligus, yaitu Amerika Serikat, Kanada, dan Meksiko. Selain itu, jumlah peserta juga meningkat dari 32 menjadi 48 tim, membuka peluang lebih besar bagi negara-negara dari berbagai konfederasi untuk tampil di panggung global. Format baru ini akan menghadirkan lebih banyak pertandingan, atmosfer kompetisi yang lebih luas, serta jangkauan penonton yang semakin besar di seluruh dunia.
Dengan skala yang jauh lebih besar, FIFA menargetkan turnamen ini sebagai ajang yang tidak hanya kompetitif tetapi juga spektakuler dari sisi teknologi dan pengalaman penonton. Stadion-stadion modern di berbagai kota tuan rumah telah dipersiapkan untuk menghadirkan pertandingan berkelas dunia, didukung oleh inovasi seperti peningkatan sistem VAR dan pengalaman digital bagi fans. diprediksi akan menjadi tonggak baru dalam evolusi sepak bola internasional, memperkuat popularitas olahraga ini sekaligus menciptakan momen-momen bersejarah yang akan dikenang dalam waktu lama.
