Argentina’s Lionel Messi has grabbed back the lead in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Golden Boot race after his goal against Egypt in the Round of 16 match on Tuesday.
Published: July 8, 2026, 12:37 PM IST
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Argentina’s Lionel Messi has returned to top of Golden Boot race in FIFA World Cup 2026. (Image: AI)
Argentina vs Egypt FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16: Argentina legend Lionel Messi created history in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 win over Egypt at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Tuesday. Messi notched up his 8th goal of the tournament, after missing a penalty earlier, to become only the second Argentina football star in 96 years to score 8 goals in the tournament.
Messi’s strike has also taken him to the top of the Golden Boot race, ahead of rivals Kylian Mbappe from France and Norway’s Erling Haaland. Mbappe has moved to 2nd place with 7 goals – same as Haaland – but the Norwegian striker in one place below him because he doesn’t have any assist while the Frenchman has a couple. Guillermo Stabile was the last Argentina player to score 8 goals in the World Cup in the 1930 edition.
FIFA has a couple of tie-breakers with two or more players are level on same number of goals and one of them is assists.
Here are FIFA’s tie-breaker rules in Golden Boot race…
If two or more players have the same number of goals, their ranking is decided by…
- Most assists: The player with the higher number of assists (determined by FIFA’s Technical Study Group) wins.
- Fewest minutes played: If assists are also equal, the award goes to the player who scored their goals in the fewest minutes on the pitch.
Messi has also notched up an assist now in the 3-2 win over Egypt. In the FIFA World Cup 2026, he has most shots – 29 and most shots on target as well – 17.
Here are the top 5 players in the Golden Boot race in FIFA World Cup 2026 ahead of the quarterfinals stage…
| Rank | Name | Country | Goal | Assists | Mins Played |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 | 1 | 468 |
| 2 | Kylian Mbappe | France | 7 | 2 | 482 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | Norway | 7 | 0 | 416 |
| 4 | Harry Kane | England | 6 | 1 | 489 |
| 5 | Ousmane Dembele | France | 4 | 2 | 391 |
Messi’s Argentina teammate Julian Alvarez called him the ‘best player player in the world’ as well as in ‘history’. “Leo, honestly, there aren’t many words left to describe. The World Cup he’s having is impressive. And well, we try to help him, to accompany him, to enjoy every moment by his side. We also thank him for everything he does for us, for how he is with us, too. And well, he’s a legend, the best player in the world and in history,” Alvarez told the reporters, as quoted by ESPN FC website.
Last 5 winners of FIFA World Cup Golden Boot
| World Cup | Winner | Country | Goals |
| 2022 (Qatar) | Kylian Mbappé | France | 8 |
| 2018 (Russia) | Harry Kane | England | 6 |
| 2014 (Brazil) | James Rodríguez | Colombia | 6 |
| 2010 (South Africa) | Thomas Müller | Germany | 5 |
| 2006 (Germany) | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
Messi scored the equaliser for Argentina in the 83rd minute before Enzo Fernandes scored the winner for the defending champions in stoppage time.
