FIFA has confirmed that France captain Kylian Mbappé is currently leading the race for the Golden Boot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and holds the advantage over Argentina skipper Lionel Messi in the race for the award.
Both players are tied on 8 goals, but Messi is behind Mbappe.
Explaining how the award is determined when players finish level on goals, FIFA said: “If two or more players score the same number of goals, the number of assists (as determined by the members of the FIFA Technical Study Group) shall be decisive.”
If players remain inseparable after goals and assists, playing time becomes the deciding factor
It adds: “If two or more players are still equal after taking into account the number of assists, the total minutes played in the tournament will be taken into account, with the player playing fewer minutes ranked first.”