Messi, Mbappé, Kane and Bellingham in the running for the Golden Boot

Kinshasa, July 15^th, 2026 (CPA). – Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, four world-class players, are locked in a fierce battle for the Golden Boot at the 2026 USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup, according to statistics from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), consulted on Wednesday by CPA. The French striker Kylian Mbappé leads the way with 8 goals and 3 assists, followed by Argentina’s Lionel Messi with the same number of goals but only 2 assists; third place is shared by England’s Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, who have each scored 6 goals and provided one assist. The tone has been set right from the first match day by Lionel Messi, who has scored a historic three goals against Algeria (3–0), followed by Kylian Mbappé’s two goals against Senegal (3–1). The following day, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have continued this momentum by also finding the net in England’s victory over Croatia (4–2). After nearly a month of competition, the race has taken on a mythical quality, with all four stars still in with a chance of finishing as the tournament’s top scorer. France, although knocked out in the semi-finals by Spain (2–0), still has one match left to play – the third-place play-off – where Kylian Mbappé could still go on a scoring spree. Nothing is decided yet in the race for these prestigious individual honours.