There are some familiar names leading the race for the Golden Boot at the 2026 World Cup, with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi standing above a host of other stars after dazzling once again with a stunning hat trick against Algeria.

In the first 24 games at the tournament, the Inter Miami star was the only player to bag a treble, scoring all of Argentina’s goals in their opening 3-0 win in Group J.

Messi has never won the Golden Boot at a World Cup but has collected other individual awards. In 2022, the former Barcelona star won the Silver Boot after scoring seven goals, one fewer than France’s Kylian Mbappé.

In 2014, Messi was awarded the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup, despite Argentina losing in the final against Germany.

Mbappé and the early chasers

Mbappé is one of seven players just behind Messi at this early stage of the race. The Real Madrid forward scored two second-half goals in France’s win over Senegal, matching the tallies of England captain Harry Kane (against Croatia), Norway striker Erling Haaland (against Iraq), Germany forward Kai Havertz (against Curaçao), and USMNT forward Folarin Balogun (against Paraguay).

Surprise names in the mix

A couple of less expected names have also joined the two-goal group so far. Sweden midfielder Yasin Ayari, who plays for Brighton in the Premier League, netted twice against Tunisia, while New Zealand’s Elijah Just, who plays for Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, scored both of his team’s goals against Iran.

Bellingham and Vinícius on target

Another 53 players have found the net once, including England star Jude Bellingham, Brazil winger Vinícius Júnior, and Mexico striker Raúl Jiménez.

Five own goals have been scored so far, with the USMNT benefiting in their opening game when Paraguay’s Damián Bobadilla opened the scoring by prodding the ball into his own net.

2026 World Cup top goalscorers

• Lionel Messi: 3
• Yasin Ayari: 2
• Folarin Balogun: 2
• Erling Haaland: 2
• Kai Havertz: 2
• Elijah Just: 2
• Harry Kane: 2
• Kylian Mbappé: 2

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