Lionel Messi Extends Lead in 2026 World Cup Golden Boot Race with Late Group Stage Goal

The 2026 World Cup group stage has seen the tournament’s top scorers pull clear from their rivals. Lionel Messi now leads the pack with six goals after delivering a late free kick goal on Saturday night. This extends his tally beyond the five goals he scored earlier in the tournament, including a hat trick against Algeria and two goals versus Austria.

By the end of group play, Messi stood as one of five players who had scored at least four goals.

Recent Highlights in Scoring

Messi’s lead faced a challenge recently when France’s Ousmane Dembélé scored the second-fastest hat trick in World Cup history, netting three goals within the first 32 minutes against Norway. That performance brought him level with Kylian Mbappé, who also scored four goals during the group stage and assisted twice on Dembélé’s goals. Mbappé was the Golden Boot winner at the previous World Cup in 2022.

Vinícius Júnior of Brazil and Erling Haaland of Norway also stand just behind Messi by a single goal. Vinícius scored twice in a match against Scotland, while Haaland was rested in Norway’s final group game since their qualification was already secured.

Hat tricks have been recorded by Messi, Dembélé, and Canada’s Jonathan David. David's three goals helped Canada achieve their first-ever World Cup victory, beating Qatar 6-0.

This Golden Boot race remains open and will be updated throughout the knockout stages.