England captain Harry Kane, the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner, is once again among the leading contenders to finish as top scorer at the 2026 World Cup.
He is expected to face stiff competition from some of world football’s biggest names, including Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Erling Haaland, across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Bettors have a clear picture of how the early Golden Boot market is shaping up heading into the tournament, with kick-off just days away.
Check out the latest World Cup 2026 top goalscorer odds below.
Who are the favourites for the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot?
Kylian Mbappe
Going into the 2022 World Cup Final, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi had tied on five goals each – but the famous hat-trick the French forward scored was enough to edge him past Messi and win him the Golden Boot for that version of the tournament, despite his team going on to lose on penalties to Argentina.
The 26 year old appears to have hit full throttle at Real Madrid this season and has been scoring at a better rate than a goal a game across all competitions. He did the same for France in qualifying for this competition, finding the net five times in only four games.
The draw has handed Les Bleus a fairly tough group though as they will take on Senegal and Norway in the group stages, giving their forward less of an opportunity to rack up the goals against a relative minnow as some of the other players on this list.
Harry Kane
The 2018 World Cup golden boot winner was England’s Harry Kane and despite now being 32, the goals have shown no sign of drying up for the superstar striker.
At the time of writing he’s racked up 32 goals in 27 appearances so far this term for Bayern Munich in all competitions and he scored eight times in the eight caps he earned in 2026 World Cup qualifying, finishing joint-second in the UEFA top scorers behind the irrepressible Erling Haaland.
A very talented, creative squad will supplement England’s all-time top goalscorer and given he scored a hat-trick against Panama back in 2018, that particular group stage fixture is one to watch out for when it comes to the Golden Boot market.
Lionel Messi
The crowning moment of Lionel Messi’s glittering international career came four years ago in Qatar as he lifted the World Cup trophy and in what will surely be his final World Cup, the legendary forward will be out to make more headlines in the USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026.
Although he will turn 39 during the tournament and is now plying his trade in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, the raw numbers are hard to ignore – 786 goals in 951 first-team appearances at club level plus an astonishing 115 in 196 Argentina caps.
Austria and Algeria are tough group opponents but Jordan should represent an opportunity for Messi to get among the goals – although Albiceleste will hope to have already secured their route through the Round of 32 by that point so they could rest the ageing Messi for that fixture.
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Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland has broken all kinds of records in his relatively short career but the 16 goals he racked up in just eight World Cup 2026 qualifiers is arguably one of his most astonishing achievements to date.
This will be Haaland’s first ever World Cup and unfortunately for him, the draw has handed Landslaget a tough group with France and Senegal to face in the group stages – but little phases the 25 year old who has scored 100 times in 112 Premier League appearances since joining Manchester City in 2022.
With 55 goals in just 48 caps to his name for his country, Haaland is an unstoppable goalscoring machine and if Norway are capable of making a run late into the tournament then his name is likely to sit top of the scoring charts – but are they a balanced enough team to progress that far?
Lamine Yamal
Euro 2022 will forever be remembered as Lamine Yamal’s tournament as the teenager powered Spain to the trophy with some unforgettable performances and now he’s looking to showcase his talent on an even bigger stage at the 2026 World Cup.
The Barcelona wonderkid won’t even turn 19 until the latter stages of the tournament but he’s already scored 33 goals for his club plus a further six in 23 appearances for the national team and he has all the attributes required to ensure those numbers keep growing and growing throughout his career.
Spain are the pre-tournament favourites to lift the trophy, so Yamal should go deep into the competition and with group stage fixtures against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia to start off with, he has an opportunity to put himself in the driving seat for the Golden Boot gong early on.
Cristiano Ronaldo
He may turn 41 before the 2026 World Cup gets underway in the USA, Canada and Mexico but one thing is for sure – you can never quite write off Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Al-Nassr forward has continued to score goals at an incredible rate in the Saudi Pro League and his career numbers are favourable even compared to Lionel Messi and with 161 Portugal goals to his name he is the highest scoring international footballer of all time.
Portugal will face at least one World Cup debutant in the group stage in the form of Uzbekistan and they could face another with New Caledonia, Jamaica and DR Congo battling it out to take the final spot in Group K, giving the former Real Madrid and Manchester United man the perfect opportunity to start his campaign with a bang.
World Cup Golden Boot tips
Harry Kane looks overpriced at 7/1 with bet365 to win the Golden Boot and the Bayern Munich striker has every chance of ending the tournament as the top scorer once again.
The England captain is enjoying another sensational campaign in Germany, finishing the 2025-26 Bundesliga season with a remarkable 36 goals in just 31 appearances for Bayern Munich. Kane also arrives in excellent form after ending the domestic season with a hat-trick against Cologne and has now scored 98 Bundesliga goals in only 94 games since joining Bayern in 2023.
England’s attack still revolves around Kane and their struggles without him earlier this year only highlighted how important he remains to Thomas Tuchel’s side. With Panama again waiting in the group stage alongside Croatia and Ghana, Kane will back himself to make a fast start just as he did when he claimed the Golden Boot in 2018.
Few forwards in world football can match Kane’s consistency in front of goal right now and, given many expect England to go deep into the competition, the Bayern man looks a strong contender to lead the scoring charts for a second time.
2026 World Cup Golden Boot FAQs
How is the World Cup Golden Boot decided?
The player who finishes the tournament with the most goals wins the Golden Boot. If two or more players tie, the player with the most assists wins the award. If a tie remains, minutes played decides the winner, with the player who played the fewest minutes taking the award.
However, most Golden Boot World Cup outright markets are actually ‘Top Scorer’ markets – which is slightly different as explained below.
What’s the difference between the Golden Boot and Top Scorer?
The difference between the Golden Boot and the Top Scorer market is that there are no tie-breaks and the market considers players to be joint-winners of the Top Scorer market. If players tie, dead heat rules will apply.
This usually means that you divide the total stake by the number of players involved in the dead heat and then multiply it by the odds at which you placed your bet. However, please check with your chosen bookmaker for their Dead Heat rules before you place your bet.
How many goals does it take to win the Golden Boot?
This varies from tournament to tournament and given that teams at the 2026 World Cup tournament will need to play more games than ever before in order to lift the trophy, it’s hard to even give an estimated answer.
The number of goals scored by the top goalscorer so far in World Cup history ranges from 13 by Just Fontaine in 1958, to just four in 1962, a number which six different players achieved in that tournament.
Who won the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot?
Kylian Mbappe was the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot winner after he scored a hat-trick in the final against Argentina to take his total to eight goals in the competition.
Who has the most goals in World Cup history?
Miroslav Klose currently holds the record for World Cup goals, having scored 16 times in 24 appearances between 2002 and 2014.
However, the German could see his record toppled this summer as Lionel Messi sits just three goals behind him and Kylian Mbappe only four away.
Who has scored the most goals in a single World Cup?
Just Fontaine scored the most goals in a single World Cup in 1958 when he scored an incredible 13 goals in just six games. The next closest is Sandor Kocsis, who scored 11 for Hungary four years earlier in 1954.
Since the turn of the millennium, Ronaldo in 2002 and Kylian Mbappe in 2022 managed the most in one tournament with a total of eight.
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